SAN ISABEL, Colo. (KOAA) — For Wayne Hill, the damage left behind by the Aspen Acres Fire didn't end when he returned home. After spending three weeks away during the evacuation, Hill came back to find his property damaged by heavy rain and runoff.
- Watch News5's coverage of flooding near the Aspen Acres Fire zone last month below:
Mud rushed onto his property, damaging a retaining wall and washing out another wall along the side of his garage.
“I'm just dealing with it the best I can. That's all I could do,” said Hill.
Seven years ago, Hill chose the San Isabel property as his retirement home. The mountains, he says, were a big part of the appeal.
“It's so peaceful and quiet,” he said.
Now, Hill shares the home with his 91-year-old mother and his son. Returning after the evacuation meant confronting the damage left behind.
“It's made me very sad and depressed, and I just roll with the punches,” he said.
Hill walked through the damage, pointing out where mud had pushed against his property.
“If you look right there, you can see how it bowed,” he said. “The three feet of mud that was in here. We have to take all this out because we don't want any mold.”
Outside the property, piles of dirt and debris now sit near Hill's driveway. Mixed in are pieces of cabinets and other belongings that were inside his garage when the runoff came through.
Hill says the debris needs to be sorted, hauled away and cleaned up, work he says he cannot do alone.
“I have to get these piles all hauled off and taken care of, because the sheriff's (office) came out and told me that it's my responsibility,” said Hill.
Hill relies on Social Security and disability income, making the cost of equipment, materials and cleanup especially difficult.
“Everything else added up altogether, I'm looking at about $22,000, $23,000,” he said.
Hill did not have flood or fire insurance when the damage occurred. He says the experience has changed the way he looks at protecting his home.
“It's taught me to have fire insurance and flood insurance because if I would have had it, they would have sent crews out here to do all this work and clean it up for me,” said Hill.
For now, Hill is looking for help getting his property back to the place he remembers.
“I'm looking for just someone who's willing to come in and help, carpenters or laborers I would feed them,” said Hill.
As Hill works to rebuild, clean up and move forward, he says he's simply trying to take things one step at a time.
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