🔍 2 years of reporting on Marshall Fire: Special edition

It’s Friday, Dec. 29, 2023.

Welcome to the end of the year, Boulder. I hope things are wrapping up nicely for you.

Unfortunately, the year’s end in Boulder County now means the anniversary of the most devastating wildfire in Colorado’s history. With tomorrow marking the two-year anniversary of the Marshall Fire, I thought it appropriate to check in on how the recovery process is going. 

Though some who lost their homes in the fire have moved back into rebuilds, according to those involved in the recovery process, many fire survivors have left the county or state, taking their insurance money to start anew elsewhere.

But it’s those locked in a purgatory of indecision who are most worrisome. Trauma from the fire has kept some from making their next move, people told us. As Additional Living Expense, or ALE, insurance runs out tomorrow for most, the window for hesitancy is fast closing. 

Boulder Reporting Lab has reported extensively on the Marshall Fire in the two years since its occurrence. We covered the struggles of those whose homes didn’t burn but were severely smoke damaged — a project that earned BRL multiple awards. We delved into the distribution of the $43 million raised by the Community Foundation Boulder County in the fire’s wake, a series named finalist for a national award, and the lawsuits filed when the fire’s cause was released. We covered the solutions needed to avoid another Marshall, among many other stories. Below you’ll find some of them. As the recovery continues, and lessons learned from the fire are implemented, we’ll continue our reporting on the reverberations of Dec. 30. 

Happy New Year. To all those affected by the Marshall Fire, we’re with you and here to share your stories.

— Tim, reporter

‘We’re going to lose people who want to live here’: High housing costs, trauma hinder some Boulder County residents in their recovery from the Marshall Fire

According to the executive director of the long-term recovery effort, the financial and mental strain resulting from the fire has kept many people in limbo two years later. Compounding the strain, the housing market in and around the burn area is now even less affordable than it once was. Continue reading…

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In case you missed it on BRL

Maine Shack expands to Boulder, bringing an East Coast seafood experience near the Pearl Street Mall. “We want you to feel like you’re stepping out of Boulder and walking into Maine,” said owner Drew Ryan.

Arrival of fentanyl in Boulder hits homeless people particularly hard, revealing ‘broken and overwhelmed’ treatment system. The city is not immune to the nation’s staggering rise in overdoses largely due to the powerful synthetic opioid. Homeless people in Boulder are administering naloxone, an opioid reversal nasal spray, on a regular basis.

City manager apologizes after staff removed ‘kidnapped’ posters from Pearl Street Mall. Boulder City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde said the removal of “kidnapped” posters by Parks and Recreation staff “was done too hastily.” The posters feature photos of those who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack with the word KIDNAPPED. Like public spaces across the U.S., the posters papered billboards on the Pearl Street Mall.

Boulder Tea Hut, a new teahouse in the Lower Chautauqua neighborhood, offers meditative Chinese tea ceremonies. From an appreciation of tea and Zen Buddhism, Boulder residents Stephan van der Mersch and Reverend Bu Nan Brown turned their passion into Boulder Tea Hut — a place where tea becomes an immersive experience.

Residents mourn 54 homeless and formerly homeless people who died this year in Boulder County. The average age at death for a homeless person is nearly two decades younger than that of the general population, research shows. 

Boulder is not as politically polarized as you might think, election data show. Detailed election records posted publicly for the first time this year offer a closer glimpse into how voters cast their ballots in the 2023 election. The records also provide insights into the influence of “slates” in the race for the Boulder City Council. 

Emma Hall, Boulder County coroner, resigns following investigation that revealed negative office atmosphere, high turnover and leadership issues. The resignation comes after Boulder Reporting Lab first brought attention to the investigative report into Hall in October. Subsequent reporting suggests the problems go further back than the investigation showed.

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