Larimer County commissioners give Alexander Mountain Fire rebuild program the green light

A program to ease the cost of rebuilding structures damaged in the Alexander Mountain Fire got unanimous approval from Larimer County commissioners Aug. 27.

The Alexander Mountain Fire Cleanup and Rebuilding Program will provide a reduction of up to $1,000 on the building permit fee for people who want to rebuild homes damaged by the wildfire and up to $500 for outbuildings.

Eric Fried, the county’s chief building official, told commissioners on Aug. 12 that the cost of a building permit varies "because building permits are based on the valuation of the home." Fried estimated that a larger home in the burn area would typically have a building permit fee of around $5,000 to $8,000.

“It's definitely the right thing to do. It's something we've done in previous fires,” Commissioner Kristin Stephens said at the meeting. “There's not a lot we can do for individual homeowners in these kinds of scenarios, so I think this is one thing that we can do to ease some of the difficulties that they're dealing with.”

The program will also add more flexibility for rebuilding nonconforming buildings and structures. These could be homes that didn’t meet current land use code requirements but were legal at the time they were built — either under an earlier code or prior to any codes.

Normally, there’s a deadline of one year for reestablishing a nonconforming use, but with the disaster rebuild program, that deadline is extended to the duration of the program to allow homeowners more time to discuss their options.

During the meeting, the program was set to be in effect for three years, until Aug. 27, 2027.

“The commissioners can terminate the program earlier if they choose to,” Fried said at the Aug. 27 meeting. “… Or it could be extended if needed. We did extend the Cameron Peak Fire (rebuild program) one additional year.”

Eligibility requirements

One of the requirements to be eligible is to have been a property owner at the start of the fire.

“We're only a few weeks after the fire, so there probably hasn't been a lot of turnover, but two years from now, some of those properties may have turned over, and this program is for the owners at the time, not for subsequent owners,” Fried said.

Property owners have to have been underinsured or uninsured, “which we've learned from prior fires, almost everybody is underinsured,” Fried added.

The homes also have to have been legally built with a permit if they were built after Jan. 1, 1972 (no permit was required before that time).

Alexander Mountain Fire structure damage numbers updated

At the meeting, Fried gave commissioners new numbers for how many structures were impacted by the fire as they have continued to assess them.

“The final total was 29 homes destroyed, four with minor damage and 21 accessory buildings destroyed,” Fried said.

At an Aug. 12 work session meeting on the same topic, 27 homes were reported destroyed .

Fried said this is a terrible situation for property owners but that things could have been “far worse.”

“Thanks to the efforts of the firefighters who were up there fighting the fire and protecting structures, most of the homes of the Cedar Creek and Storm Mountain area were saved,” Fried said.

The chief building official also said that after the Cameron Peak Fire, only about 20% of homes were rebuilt. That figure was about 40% for High Park Fire.

Fried previously told the Coloradoan he estimates the rebuilding rate for the Alexander Mountain Fire might fall in between those of the other two fires.

“Partly because of the money, partly because people built when it was this beautiful forested area — and now it doesn't look like that,” Fried previously told the Coloradoan.

Read more: Alexander Mountain Fire and wildfire trends explained in 5 charts (and a map)

According to Larimer County’s website , the Alexander Mountain Fire Long-Term Recovery Group can provide individual case management to talk about individual needs and assistance for those who had property damage. You can reach out to them by calling 970-232-1150.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Larimer County commissioners give Alexander Mountain Fire rebuild program the green light