The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
Insurance claims for homes, ruined personal items, and vehicles destroyed in the fire that swept through Fourmile Canyon west of Boulder earlier this month have set a record. Preliminary figures from the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association put the tally at $217 million in damages, far eclipsing the $46.1 million in claims made following the 2002 Hayman Fire, which destroyed 133 homes, note The Denver Post and the Daily Camera.
In all, 169 structures were lost in the blaze, which began on September 6. Because many were primary residences rather than the cabins and vacation homes typically found in forested areas, the fire is considered even more costly. And the total doesn’t account for the money spent fighting the fire: $10.1 million. That figure, as well as insurance claims, is expected to rise.