Hundreds of people pledged to quickly rebuild after the Waldo Canyon fire raced over a ridge in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood on June 26 and destroyed 346 homes.

But thus far, just a few have been able to start building. As of Thursday, four homeowners had been granted permits to rebuild, according to records from the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

There are many reasons there aren’t more homes being rebuilt yet, said Bob Croft, of the regional building department. Some people are negotiating with their insurance companies while others are searching for builders or figuring out permits.

Some, Croft said, are still coping with the tragedy and haven’t decided what to do.

“To me, personally, the most important thing is to be understanding of people who have obviously gone through a unique emotional experience,” he said. “People are people and emotionally they all deal with this differently in a different time frame.”

There’s been progress at most of the destroyed homes, with two thirds of the affected houses applying for debris removal from their lots, Croft said. That’s important because it limits the amount of ash and soot in the air from the fire zone, he said.

What’s helped at those homes where rebuilding is under way, Croft said, is that the owners started the process early and, in general, their new homes will be about the same size as what they lost.

One of those homes, on Rossmere Street, is almost the exact house as before. The home was built in 1996 by Aspen Country Homes, owned by Jim Mourning. Two days after the fire, the owners called Mourning and asked him to build their house again.

“She loved the house and wanted it back,” he said of the owner. “I still had the plans.”

He said there were a couple of tweaks to the design, such as adding a bay window and upgrading the house to current code for safety issues, so he had to resubmit the plans. Overall, he said, it’s been a quick and easy process.

“We were one of the first houses being built because they knew what they wanted and we got started right away,” he said.

What also has helped a speedy rebuild for those houses is the area they are in — west of Flying W Ranch Road where the lots are a little larger and home owners have more flexibility in choosing a house plan. Other areas have been slower.

The fire decimated the Parkside community, burning 141 of the community’s 178 houses. The Parkside houses account for 40 percent of the burned homes and, thus far, none have been granted a permit to rebuild.

Part of the holdup is making sure that the new homes adhere to the original planning documents, which hasn’t been an easy task, said Kyle Campbell, interim director of planning for the city. The patio homes were closely spaced and if one plan for a new home is too big, it could affect the neighbor’s plans, he said. Also, the planning documents call for a certain style and size of house on each lot and some neighbors want to change their house.

“People are re-thinking their homes and this is an appropriate time to do that,” he said, adding that the city is reviewing the original development plans and seeing if there was any way to “get around” that requirement. The planning office also is developing a master document to give builders the specific requirements in Parkside. In the meantime, people are welcome to get advise from planners on a case-by-case basis, he said.

“Anybody who wants to rebuild, we want to get them to the finish line as fast as we can,” he said.

The first new home to be completed in Mountain Shadows will be owned by Joseph Boyd and Trish Nelson-Boyd. They received their permit less than a month after the fire and the frame is up on the house. Right now, it’s the only standing structure on their street, Yankton Place.

They chose a style of house that had plans approved by the building department, which helped the process, Boyd said. The home is expected to be finished by Thanksgiving, and he can’t wait to get back, even if it means they will be the only ones living on their street.

“Everyone takes their own time when things get down to it,” he said. “I imagine within the next month or two, they will start building as well. They will be back soon enough.”

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