Smoke And Wind Damage Assessments Underway For Homes Still Standing After Marshall Fire

LOUISVILLE, Colo. (CBS4) - On Sunday, volunteers began going door to door in Louisville, Superior, and other parts of Boulder County to assess how much smoke and wind damage was done to properties not destroyed by the Marshall Fire. 

The effort is part of Boulder County's debris removal program, which began earlier this month. So far, it has included clearing damaged vehicles, downed power lines, and other debris from the right-of-way, as well as helping homeowners dispose of spoiled food.

The door-to-door assessments for smoke and wind damage are expected to take two days. The goal is for the county to better understand what will need to be collected later on. 

"We are really just trying to get the data needed so that Boulder County can gather all of those resources," said Jaimie Portelle, deputy director for planning and resilience for AC Disaster Consulting. "If we don't know, we can't help, basically."

According to Portelle, the county plans to begin a curbside collection of such items on Jan. 24. The effort is expected to take about two weeks to complete.

Smoke or wind damaged furniture, fencing, and more are eligible for pick up. Crews will not collect fire damaged items in this phase, though more debris removal efforts are in the works for February, according to the county website. 

"It's a long haul, but there are resources out there to help and that's what we're here for," Portelle said.

Of the close to 50 volunteers helping Sunday, many lived in the neighborhoods affected, Portelle said. Others, like Chanel and Ryan Adams, came from out of town, hoping to make some people's road to recovery a little clearer.

"These people are so incredibly brave and the endurance that they're going through such a hard time is amazing," said Chanel Adams. "It makes me feel good to know that I can alleviate a small portion of what they're suffering through."

Door-to-door assessments will continue Monday. If someone isn't home, volunteers will leave flyers about the cleanup. 

Anyone with smoke or wind damage can find more information, as well as a form to self-report damage, on Boulder County's website.