'Never Seen A Storm Like This': Residents Dealing With Hail Damage A Year Later
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Homeowners are still repairing roofs from a historic hailstorm in May 2017 a year later after damage to houses and cars created a backlog for contractors and auto shops.
"Hail came down. It's the biggest I've ever seen," said Jim Sestrich of the storm on May 8, 2017. "Two in a quarter, two and a half inch hail. I've lived here my whole life and never seen anything that large."
Sestrich and his wife have lived in the home they built outside of Golden for more than 20 years. They remember the sound of the storm from inside their house and the hail lasting 15 minutes.
"You could hear it hitting and it was hitting hard, and finally one of the windows broke out," he said. "It was real noisy, probably the noisiest I've ever heard hail."
The insurance cost from the storm had a lasting impact on residents across the Front Range. An initial estimate of $1.4 billion has almost doubled to $2.3 billion, making it the most expensive insured catastrophe.
The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association says homeowner claims have reached more than 100,000 and around 167,000 for auto claims.
"I've been in the auto body business for 12 years, and I've never seen a storm like this," Ken Lanier, Colorado Vice President of ABRA Auto Body & Glass said in a statement. "We saw busted out windshields and backglass and major body damage, not the small dents and dings we see from most storms."
Auto shops in town said they still have hundreds of cars that still need to be repaired. They quoted some customers back in May 2017 it would take a year to repair their vehicle.
In some cases, homeowners had to wait because of the number of people in front of them to get their roofs repaired. Others chose to delay any work so they could get the best materials and contractors to take care of their houses.
Sestrich says their insurance and installer did what they needed, but the shingles required were no longer available. Then they had to get the contractor scheduled once they found the inventory in stock. The stone-coated steel roof they have been waiting to replace for a year should be ready by the end of the week.
"You just move forward, hope it doesn't happen again," he said. "That's part of living in Colorado."
Shawn Chitnis reports for CBS4 News at 10 on weekends and CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the week. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
