Finding new stability: A family who lost their home to the Marshall Fire plans to move abroad [Video]

LOUISVILLE, Colo. — The sounds of digging, drilling and hammering now echo through a neighborhood where, 11 months ago, the smell of ash didn’t leave for days. 

After the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Louisville, Superior and Boulder County at the tail end of 2021, construction crews are now working in those neighborhoods to rebuild homes. 

The Payne family of five was one of the families who lost their entire home and most of their belongings. Mother and father, Stacy and Todd Payne, were landing at Denver International Airport on Dec. 30, 2021 returning from  a trip. Their two oldest children were picking them up while the youngest, at age 11, stayed at home alone for the first time. 

That afternoon, winds in Boulder County rose to hurricane strength and a fire quickly spread through the county. A neighbor grabbed the youngest Payne family member as evacuations …