LOUISVILLE, Colo. — Over the past 365 days, we have met people whose lives were completely changed because of the Marshall Fire.
Houses were burned to the ground, some were destroyed by smoke. Denver7 caught up with a man whose journey we’ve been following every step of the way.
It all started when Kevin Petty, from Louisville, was watching the news in the morning immediately after the fire. He was desperate for answers about what happened to his home.
He messaged our reporters who were on the scene of the fire. After getting his message, our crews went by his house, in the Harper Lake south shore area, and found it was spared, with some damage on the side of the home.
A year later, the Petty family is still working to recover what they lost. They were left with only the structure of the home, everything inside of it was lost.
“It's been a little bit of a challenge with some of the holidays, [they] have slowed us down a little bit. Thanksgiving and now Christmas and that's understandable. But we're looking to get in roughly the second or third week of January,” said Petty.
The family is now about three weeks away from their home being finished. The price tag of it is not small by any means.
Their windows, appliances and even furniture had to be replaced. Luckily, the costs will be covered by insurance.
“We're going to be close to basically of being insured on our home because these organizations have come in and supported us,” he added.
The support does not stop now. Petty said they will support those around them.
“We recognize that we still have neighbors out there — that are very close neighbors, you know — we go to church with some of these neighbors, our dentist lives close by for our kids, just good friends that are all around us. And we know that they're still working through the process. And they're still struggling in some cases.”
The family now is counting down the days before they're in their home again.
“We're so excited to get back in,” Petty said.
A new opportunity for them to make the house a home again.
Petty said he views the damage a lot differently now. Every time he sees a burned home, apartment or empty lot, he thinks about how he can help.
The true spirit of the community – coming together after tragedy.