Marshall Fire Rebuild: The First Family Back Home

TL;DR:

• Wood Brothers Homes finished the first Marshall Fire rebuild. The Louisville home was completed on December 16, 2022, less than a year after the fire.
• Homeowner Jessica Carson called Wood Brothers within a day of losing her house. She moved in before Christmas.
• Wood Brothers went on to rebuild 43 homes after the Marshall Fire. Fire-resistant construction is now standard on every home they build.
• Colorado's Wildfire Resiliency Code now requires many of the same materials, like Class A roofs and ember-resistant vents, in mapped wildfire areas.

The first Marshall Fire rebuild to be finished was a Louisville home built by Wood Brothers Homes. It was completed December 16, 2022, two weeks before the fire's one-year anniversary. For the family who lived there, it meant spending the holidays in their own home, on their own street.

Wood Brothers Homes is a Louisville design-build company with a storefront on Main Street. That first rebuild led to 43 Marshall Fire rebuilds, and it changed how the company builds every home in Boulder County and along the Front Range.

What was the first home rebuilt after the Marshall Fire?

The first completed Marshall Fire rebuild was Jessica Carson's home in Louisville's Cornerstone neighborhood. Wood Brothers Homes built it, and the City of Louisville issued the certificate of occupancy on December 16, 2022. That made Louisville the first community to see a home that was destroyed in the fire rebuilt and lived in again.

The December 30, 2021 fire destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and businesses in Boulder County, 550 of them in Louisville. When the Carson home was finished, Louisville had issued 123 rebuilding permits, with 60 more under review. Most lots hadn't broken ground yet.

Friends, family, neighbors, and city officials gathered for a ribbon cutting that Friday morning. For Carson, the reason for moving that fast was simple. "That was the biggest goal, just to get back here," she told 9News. Furniture arrived later that day, and the family celebrated the holidays in the new house.

How did Wood Brothers Homes rebuild so fast?

Wood Brothers started right away and kept design, pricing, and construction on one team. Carson reached out the day after the fire, construction began in early June 2022, and the house was finished more than a week ahead of her Christmas goal. At the time, many survivors were being told a rebuild would take two to three years.

A few things made the difference:

• Starting early. Wood Brothers was the first builder to clear a burned lot in Louisville. That meant following fire-specific cleanup rules, including removing 12 inches of topsoil to get rid of contaminants.
• Knowing the permit process. Many fire survivors said getting a building permit was the hardest step. A local builder who works with Louisville's building department regularly can keep a project moving.
• One team from design to keys. In design-build, the people drawing the plans work alongside the people pricing and building them, so decisions don't stall between companies.
• A clear goal. Justin Wood, who founded the company in 2009, wanted to show families they didn't have to wait years to get home.

The rebuild wasn't a copy of the old house, either. Carson used it to make improvements: a bigger home office, a primary suite with mountain views, and a walk-in closet.

What did the Marshall Fire teach Colorado home builders?

The Marshall Fire showed that wildfire risk isn't limited to mountain towns. It was a wind-driven grass fire that tore through suburban neighborhoods in Louisville, Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County. Many homes caught fire because wind-blown embers found small openings, not because flames reached them directly.

Wood Brothers saw this lot after lot across 43 rebuilds. The takeaway was that a home's fire resistance comes down to many small details: vents, roof edges, siding joints, decks, and what sits right next to the foundation. Since then, the company has treated fire-resistant construction as the baseline on every home, not an optional upgrade.

Why do better building materials matter for Colorado homes?

Materials decide whether an ember turns into a house fire. Class A roofs, noncombustible siding and gutters, ember-resistant vents, and tempered glass all cut down the ways a home can ignite. Colorado now requires many of these in mapped wildfire areas under the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code.

Part of the homeBetter material choiceWhat it helps resistRoofClass A rated roof assemblyEmbers landing on the roofVentsListed ember-resistant vents or 1/8 inch noncombustible meshEmbers getting into the attic or crawl spaceSiding and guttersNoncombustible materials like fiber cement, stucco, or metalIgnition at walls and roof edgesWindowsMulti-pane units with tempered exterior glassRadiant heat breaking the glassDecksIgnition-resistant or noncombustible deckingFire spreading to the exterior wallFirst 5 feet around the homeRock, gravel, or concreteEmbers lighting landscaping next to the house

The statewide code took effect July 1, 2025. Local jurisdictions with wildfire areas had to adopt it by April 1, 2026, with full compliance required by July 1, 2026. Louisville also adopted its own fire-hardening updates in January 2026.

No house is fireproof. The goal is to take away as many ignition points as possible. For a detailed breakdown, read What Makes a Home Fire Resistant in Colorado?

What should you look for in a builder after a wildfire?

Look for a builder who knows your jurisdiction, prices the design while it's being drawn, and builds fire resistance in from the start. Local permitting experience saves time, and open-book budgets help when insurance payouts set the limit.

Wood Brothers Homes builds five to ten homes a year, and one of the Wood brothers, Justin, Jerod, or David, is involved on every project. Learn more about their fire-resistant home building, custom home building, and design-build process.

FAQ

Who built the first home after the Marshall Fire?

Wood Brothers Homes, a Louisville design-build company, built the first completed Marshall Fire rebuild. The home belongs to Jessica Carson in Louisville's Cornerstone neighborhood, and the city issued its certificate of occupancy on December 16, 2022.

How many Marshall Fire homes did Wood Brothers Homes rebuild?

Wood Brothers Homes rebuilt 43 homes after the Marshall Fire. The company says that's roughly 10 percent of the total rebuild.

How long does it take to rebuild a home after a wildfire in Colorado?

It depends on lot cleanup, insurance, design, and permitting. The first Marshall Fire rebuild took just under a year from fire to move-in, with construction starting about five months after the fire.

What is the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code?

It's Colorado's first statewide wildfire building code. It sets minimum standards like Class A roofing, noncombustible gutters and siding, and ember-resistant vents for new construction and major remodels in mapped wildfire areas.

Can a fire-resistant home be fireproof?

No. Fire-resistant construction lowers the chances of ignition, but wind, fire intensity, nearby structures, and maintenance all play a role. The goal is to remove as many weak points as possible.

Where does Wood Brothers Homes build?

Wood Brothers Homes is based at 813 Main Street in Louisville and builds custom homes, remodels, and additions across Boulder County and the Front Range.

Building or rebuilding in Boulder County?

Wood Brothers Homes got the first Marshall Fire family home, and 42 more after that. If you're planning a new home, a rebuild, or an addition, contact Wood Brothers Homes to talk through your property and how to build it to last.