Post-Marshall Fire FAQs

Concerned friends and acquaintances have been in touch with me about our family’s status over the past year. Here are the current answers to some common questions as of December 30, 2022. I’ll update this list as things change.

Official post-fire property photo taken by Boulder County.

1. Are you rebuilding? Yes, we are working on building a new home on the same lot.
2. Do you have a builder? Not quite yet — We are in verbal agreement with a builder and hope to engage them in the new year.
3. Do you have architectural plans? Yes — We’re working with Kristin Reisinger with Space Craft Architecture and hope to have final drawings in Q1 CY2023.
4. Have you applied for a building permit? No — We hope to do so by the end of Q1 CY2023.
5. When will your new home be complete? I’m crossing fingers for Q3 of CY2024.
6. Have you had problems with your insurance? Not so far — We’ve been very lucky with our experiences with adjusters and have had the same case manager for most of the past year.
7. Did you have to create an itemized list of your contents? No — that’s part of the reason why we consider ourselves so lucky about insurance.
8. Were you underinsured, like we keep hearing in the news? Yes, by several hundreds of thousands of dollars, like nearly 90% of our neighbors. The cost of building materials have skyrocketed in the past few years, and the rise in interest rates is a mixed blessing.
9. Are you at least excited by the prospect of designing and building your dream home? Yes and no — Fortunately, my spouse has a lot of experience with remodeling and enjoys researching various building materials and techniques. We are certainly intending to build our long-term home with features we’ll be able to enjoy for years to come. Still, we weren’t planning to build a new home, especially on a deadline, and the uncertainties in cost are not helpful.
10. Do you have a long-term rental situation? We have been extremely fortunate to have been offered the use of a home in Boulder belonging to generous friends. We have been in this house since early January 2022, and we’ve been assured we can stay as long as needed as we rebuild. I feel so lucky in this regard because I know so many people who have had to move multiple times in the past year and/or are living in uncomfortable and inconvenient situations.
11. How are your kids doing? They’re both doing reasonably well in their respective schools, and have had successful soccer seasons during 2022. They’ve had to grow up quickly and be extremely resilient. I’m very proud of both of them.
12. Did you lose your cello? Yes — all of our instruments were lost in the fire, including two cellos, a clarinet, a saxophone, a Klavinova, an electric drum set, and my father’s vintage custom-made Japanese acoustic guitar from the 1960s. My former instrument insurance (who has since dropped my policy so I’m now with a different carrier) did pay out the original appraisal amount for my professional cello, so I’ve since acquired a new Arie Werbrouck 2021 cello. A special thanks to my friend Marcelo for the long term loan of his beautiful professional instrument and two bows. A note to my musician friends: Update your instrument appraisals, if you haven’t done so in the past few years.
13. How are you doing? Are you taking care of yourself? Um, maybe? I’ve rediscovered knitting (thanks to the Makerie and Lula Faye Fiber), been back playing the cello professionally since March, and have been working out semi-regularly. I’ve also merged my consulting company with an IP boutique law firm, run by friends, thus reducing the entrepreneurial load of operating my own business while providing continuity for my longterm clients. Although I’m generally an ambivert, I’ve really given into my introvert tendencies in the past year, so please be patient with me if I don’t want to attend gatherings.
14. Is there anything you need? Thank you for asking, and we’ll keep you posted.