Monday’s screaming winds and dry conditions have many Marshall fire victims terrified that their number is up … again.

Three years ago, Dec. 30 was much like this year. That day, wind gusts of 100 miles per hour whipped through unincorporated Boulder County, Louisville and Superior and ignited a wildfire that left more than 1,000 families homeless and businesses burned. 

Two people died in the Marshall fire of 2021.

After 17 months of intense investigation, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office announced the Marshall fire was actually two separate fires started by two separate causes within 2,000 feet and an hour apart. 

The first was human-caused by a fire at property owned by Twelve Tribes that was left to smolder six days earlier. Investigators said the fire had been covered in dirt, but on Dec. 30, 2021, the high-wind event uncovered and reignited the smoldering fire at about 11 a.m.

The second was an unmoored Xcel Energy power line near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead that sparked at around noon.

Now, as periodic gusts of up to 60 miles per hour ravaged Boulder County, some Marshall fire survivors stayed home from third anniversary commemoration events, afraid to leave their pets. Some felt a sense of impending doom they couldn’t shake. 

“We have bags packed and we are watering our lawn and home,” said Lucretia Holcomb, who lost everything to the Marshall fire except her car, phone and the clothes she was wearing.

Lyons Mayor Hollie Rogin has a packed bag by her front door just in case.

“Both Marshall fire and Stone Canyon fire, when they erupted, there wasn’t a lot of time,” Rogin said. “It’s nerve-wracking.”

One person died and five structures were lost in Lyons’ Stone Canyon fire this past July. 

Fears are real

The Boulder County National Weather Service issued a Red Flag warning Monday for the foothills due to high winds and dry conditions.  A small bit of rain Christmas Day did not reduce fire danger and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office issued a high wind warning that banned open burning. 

All Sunday night and Monday morning, Boulder County residents called the National Weather Service center frantic for information but meteorologists remained calm.

“Today, Monday, is not the same day as Dec. 30, 2021,”  said Greg Heavener, warning coordination meteorologist for NWS Boulder. But he still stressed that people should be vigilant about “looking for any sparks that could ignite a fire.” 

Cynthia Hare, a Louisville pre-school teacher, spent a sleepless night listening to the wind — which she said sounded just like it did three years ago.

“I’m anxious today,” said Hare, a caregiver for her two elderly parents. 

She will never forget the terrified faces of the children she was watching on Dec. 30, 2021, as the fire swept through town. 

“We took the kids on buses to the dog park to wait for the parents in gridlocked traffic,” she said. 

Marshall fire recovery

Today, 712 homes have been rebuilt. About a third of affected residents have either moved away or are in the process of rebuilding.

Ashley Stoltzman is a local community leader who has been on the front lines of the Marshall fire rebuild, first as a Louisville city councilmember and now as a Boulder County commissioner. She said there are various reasons why some families have not returned. 

“One family told me they are waiting for the coal fire remediation work to be complete before they rebuild. Another person told me their family lost several homes, and they put the money and energy into helping their adult kids rebuild and are just now thinking about their home,” she said. “Some are waiting for different market conditions to sell. Each person and family has a different story. There are various issues with insurance, building contractors, lending and so on.”

Sandy Quiller was at the mercy and timing of her homeowner’s association. Her Superior condominium was a sitting duck that day. It sat on the precipice of dry open space and was gone in minutes. Still, Quiller had to pay three years of homeowner’s fees at around $500 per month for a hole in the ground as construction stopped and started.

“It’s been so long,” she wrote in a text.  

Just last month, her foundation was finally poured as time ticked on her cost of living insurance. 

Who’s in and who’s out?

As of December 2024, official recovery dashboards for Louisville, Superior and unincorporated Boulder County show that half of homeowners have returned to their original lots. 

Allison James entered the Marshall fire recovery world by accident. 

One day she was a Superior city project manager dealing with homelessness, affordable housing, and contract administration. Four days after the fire, she found herself taking a new position as disaster recovery manager, assisting families in an often frustrating rebuilding process of paperwork deadlines and delays. 

“We’ve called the families who have not gotten permits, still own their property, and have not rebuilt,” said James in an earlier interview. “The majority are still fighting with insurance. The underinsurance was rampant and that played a big part in the recovery. If you bought your home 20 years ago, square foot costs are way more now.” 

James worked tirelessly to get funding for people whose homes were still standing but unsafe.

“Smoke damage was another ball of wax,” she said. “Superior decided early on to expand our definition of what it means for a home to be destroyed. We led the charge on that.”

Said James: “You’ve gotta have a heart left in there or it’s not worth rebuilding.”

Meryl Suissa used her heart to help from her home in Jefferson County. She started a Facebook page the day of the fire where people could donate household goods for the crippled Marshall fire community. Today it is a place for survivors to commiserate. 

“The exact anniversary is hard enough, but the conditions today mirror those of Dec. 30, 2021,” said Suissa.

In the final weeks of 2021, conditions along the Front Range were dry and warm. 

“Those conditions are mirrored this year and people are scared. It’s the worst day to have this much wind,” Suissa said. 

Cynthia Hare, a 40-year Louisville veteran, is amazed at the resilience of its residents. Thus, Monday, even as Marshall fire victims were gritting their teeth through the cruel winds, she prayed to get through the third anniversary without an evacuation notice.

“There was nothing here when I moved in,” she said. “I watched my town grow, then burn, and then grow again. We are a community.”

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