Making a home in Niwot after the Marshall Fire

The Marshall Fire left a scar on Boulder County last year, and since then, we have all experienced anxiety about whether or not the next grassfire will burn down our homes.

A Niwot parent of a Marshall fire victim said, "The trauma is still so real. [Our daughter] often feels defeated, angry, sad, scared....lots of emotions. We do what we can to help, but there's a long road ahead. Even though the fire families are so appreciative of all the love and support from the community and perfect strangers, the trauma is still a huge issue."

Thankfully, time helps heal wounds and teaches us to honor our loved ones.

Take Tim Hughes for example. He and his wife lived in the Spanish Hills community where they had a breathtaking view of the mountains, and that view also showed that the fire was heading right towards them.

"We saw smoke coming from the Boulder area, but most of the time it was proceeding straight west, so it was staying on the south side of Highway 36," Hughes said. "So, we figured it would be okay to stay put, but then the winds shifted and we saw the flames on our side of Highway 36. That's when we immediately got out and packed some of our things: our cat, our cat carrier, our important papers and documents, my saxophone and clarinet, and about five sets of clothing."

"And as soon as we got down to South Boulder Road, we could see the flames run right up the hill and engulf our house," he recalled..

The Hughes' headed down to South Boulder, to live with his wife's parents. Immediately, the couple looked up rental property on Zillow and found a house in Niwot.

"We started exploring the area (Niwot)," Hughes said. "We walked downtown, because we're within the walking distance range, which was great. We walked by Colorado Landmark Realty and we saw some houses for sale. My wife and I were planning on rebuilding our old home, but we really like the Niwot community and decided to just buy a home here."

"We sold out our lot in the Spanish Hills and we're just loving it here in Niwot," the Springhill resident said. " The people are wonderful. Everyone here seems to just love it. And we're basically just starting a new chapter in our lives. Right now, we're doing a remodel of our new home."

"In Niwot, there seems to be a lot of effort put into these nice events, particularly during the summer, but there's events all-year round. My wife and I really enjoyed going to the 'Dancing Under the Stars' event. We went dancing every Friday. And we loved the Rock & Rails concert series and we walked to every show every Friday and Saturday. And we love the restaurants here, too. I even joined the Niwot [Community] band," said Hughes.

He and his wife still miss the beautiful view they had back at the Spanish Hills subdivision, their piano with the pipe organ that turned to ashes, as well as some old family photos that are lost forever (except the digitized versions).

"You need to embrace the 'here and now' and be thankful for the people you have in your life," Hughes said. "We really appreciate all the kindness and support from volunteers and people's donations. It was all very helpful, particularly getting some clothes and basic needs."