Family watches as other homes are rebuilt after Marshall Fire – but not theirs

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) - The Wyss family has watched other homes, in their Spanish Hills neighborhood, go up after the Marshall Fire last year.

They said they feel they are on the outside looking in and they're warning others what to know about their homeowners insurance policy.

"This day last year we were walking through Target trying to figure out what to get first," Wendy Wyss said.

A vacant lot is all that remains where their home once stood.

"Immediately after the fire, we went to a hotel for two months," Wyss said. "After that, we found an apartment and we were there for about six and half months."

They waited for their insurance claim to be settled in order to rebuild.

"You're going to file a claim, you're going to get it paid out," Wyss said, "you're going to start meeting with builders, doing all of those things to get back home."

She said they're facing a harsh reality: Their insurance policy didn't cover the entire cost to rebuild.

On their block you'll find other homes, ready to be built or in the process of being built.

"Everyone immediately around us is either permitted, framed or have their foundation poured and we're stalled," Wyss said.

The family did not want to mention who their insurance carrier is, because they are currently involved in a lawsuit against them.

"My advice is to check your policy," Wyss said.

One dispute has been the actual square footage of their home before it was destroyed and the ''as was' cost.

"It might cost money to get those actual numbers, to make sure you're actually covered," Wyss said.

The Marshall Fire was the most expensive disaster in Colorado history, an assessment of 951 homes destroyed in the fire added up to more than $2 billion in damages.