LOUISVILLE, Colo. — Ground will be broken Monday on the first home rebuild in Louisville, five and a half months after the Marshall Fire.
Jessica Carson has lived in Louisville since 2009, and, in 2020, she moved into the home that was later destroyed in the fire.
"It feels like the fire was yesterday and forever ago at the same time — it's hard to explain. And I've never gone through the process of building a new home," Carson said. "Everything feels like it takes forever, and you're just so excited to get to that next step. And so really excited to start seeing things go up versus everything came down on Dec. 30."
Carson said there was never a question that she would rebuild. Plans were in place within two weeks of the fire, she said.
“Tomorrow will be a great step looking forward,” said Justin Wood, the owner of Wood Brothers Homes, when he spoke on Sunday.
Wood Brothers will start excavating soil, making way for a future foundation and home to be rebuilt at the lot on Larkspur Lane.
“I think it’s such great step forward for [the homeowner] to put the fire behind them and start getting back to where they can move back into their home relatively soon,” Wood said.
The entire rebuild will take about eight months. The Louisville company also has plans to rebuild about 20 other homes in the surrounding neighborhood.
“I think it’s going to be a great day for hope for the community to see we are there,” Wood said. “People are going to start seeing some rebuilds happen and for the people that aren’t quite there, I think it’s going to give them hope to get there.”
It will still be a long process for so many, especially those whose lots still have not been cleared of debris. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed in the fire that broke out on Dec. 30.
But this is a first step forward — one that so many have waited a long time for.
"The entire community was impacted — whether you lost your home or it's still standing or it's damaged or you know someone — and it will never be the same. But I think days like today show that it can be even better than it was," Carson said. "And we will continue to support each other and help each other."
The groundbreaking is set to take place at 11 a.m.