LOUISVILLE, Colo. — It's been two years since the Marshall Fire started in Boulder County. It burned more than 6,000 acres and 1,084 homes, becoming Colorado's most destructive wildfire.
Two people didn't make it out as the Marshall Fire burned.
Robert Sharpe died in his home near Marshall Road, close to where the fire started. His family said they believe he stayed to grab personal mementos. He was 69 years old.
91-year-old Nadine Turnbull died in her home in Original Town Superior. Boulder County deputies said Turnbull went back to her home to rescue her dogs.
Two years later, nearly half of the fire survivors still don't have permits to rebuild.
But all around Boulder County, the sight of construction work is present. As many families break ground or wrap up work on their new homes, others are still fighting to get what they need to move forward.
In Louisville, one woman whose home burned down is now getting ready to start a new journey forward.
"It's not home. I mean...It's a house on a lot where you used to live," said Lisa Hughes.
The home she and her husband raised their family in was burned down two years ago, on Dec. 30, 2021 as the devastating Marshall Fire swept through.
Lisa said she and her family had been in the mountains, her neighbors watching her home. She was driving back when the neighbors called.
"So we were actually coming down I-70 when we heard about it. And our neighbors were watching our house. And at like 12:30, they were like everyone is out in the cul-de-sac laughing because the trash cans are blowing around. And at 1 p.m., they were like we're leaving," Lisa said. “It was pretty scary."
That fire burned thousands of acres and nearly 1,100 homes - including Lisa's. The destruction left behind in the days that followed was hard to comprehend.
"It was very difficult. And I mean, the whole neighborhood burned down so it was pretty surreal." Lisa said.
"In many ways, it seems like a very long time ago. But for so many of us, so many of our residents in Louisville and Superior, it's like it was yesterday," said Rep. Kyle Brown (D), Colorado Dist. 12. “We’re still reliving those days. And today, on the anniversary of the Marshall Fire, so many of the terrible memories of losing our homes, of evacuating from our homes, of losing all of our possessions and losing our loved ones and our pets, are back with us. And it’s a very difficult time for us.”
Brown has spent most of his life in Louisville.
When the Marshall Fire hit, his home was spared. For so many of his neighbors, that wasn't the case.
"Even a year ago, these homes weren't even up," Brown said while standing in the neighborhood at St. Andrews Lane and West Dillon Road in Louisville. "And to me, that's exciting but it's also extremely sad that we're standing next to an empty lot, two empty lots just right here. So that's sort of the dichotomy that's going on," Brown said.
In the last two years, the community has had to pull together, supporting one another, helping families get through.
But those impacted by the fire found a minefield of issues from trouble with insurance paying out, families being underinsured, and issues working with mortgage companies.
So lawmakers like Brown got to work, taking action to protect renters and those with reverse mortgages, trying to help families who lost so much.
“Last year, we did some really important things. We helped make sure that when people are buying homeowners insurance, that they have choices and especially choices that will cover the full cost of their home if it’s lost," Brown said. “We also passed a very important program that is providing necessary financial assistance to those folks who are underinsured, exempting them from sales tax. In many cases, people are already getting $15-35,000 in assistance from the state because they were hundreds of thousands of dollars underinsured.”
That's work he plans to continue during the upcoming legislative session.
“This year we know that mortgage companies have been a challenge, working with a mortgage company has been challenging so I’m going to introduce legislation to make sure that people know what the rules are so that they can get the insurance money that is theirs to rebuild their home from their mortgage company so they can return home," Brown said. “I’ll also be working to make sure that people who have a partial loss, have smoke and ash damage or maybe lost a wall, that we know what kind of insurance standards and health and safety standards we need to return those homes to so people can come back home.”
This December, all around Louisville and Superior, construction is underway. But, not for everyone.
"Everybody is really in a different place. And yeah, I think a lot of it has been focused on the rebuilding which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing. But I think people don't understand there's a lot of survivors that are still struggling and really having a difficult time," Lisa said. “You can see there’s different amounts of people – people moved in, people just breaking ground, etc. And I think it’s that way in every neighborhood. And people are in a lot of different places even two years out. You know, some people are still trying to figure out funding, some people are still battling their insurance companies."
For so many, the path to get back home may take months, if not years.
Lisa knows her family is lucky to be able to move back to her cul-de-sac next month.
"I think it'll probably be kind of intense and exciting," Lisa said. "It will be different for sure."
But still, bittersweet.
"I mean, this whole neighborhood was a total loss. So I mean, we lost all the pictures we never had digitized, we lost our wedding dress, we lost mementos from travel. All my kids, I mean they're all young adults, but all their stuff," Lisa said. "You know, that's stuff you can't get back."
But after two years away, she's ready to move in and slowly make this new house a home.
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