Inadequate insurance, delayed payments and complex building codes have slowed the return to two Colorado towns
Susan Nedell was watching black smoke billowing in the distance from the kitchen window when her cellphone buzzed with an order to evacuate. It was 30 December around 1.30pm, and the Marshall fire had by then been razing neighborhoods for a couple of hours. Yet Nedell’s house in Louisville, Colorado, was some distance away.
Expecting to be back within a few hours, she left with only her laptop, some knitting and leftovers for lunch.