Denver synagogue Kohelet begins rebuild after massive 5-alarm fire in January

It's been more than five months since a five-alarm fire broke out at an apartment complex on Leetsdale Drive in Denver. Most of the site has been cleaned and scraped, while the work at a nearby synagogue that suffered severe damage is just beginning. 

"It looks like they're ready to come back and rebuild what burned down," said Chuck Jacobs, the congregation president of Kohelet.

Although much different from our first visit back in February, the view from Kohelet, which backs up to what's left of the apartment complex, is still a reminder of the largest fire in Denver in three decades.

On the inside, work to rebuild the synagogue just began this week. 

"This room is our sanctuary, which it doesn't resemble a sanctuary particularly," Jacobs said. "The last time you were here, I think this was full of stuff, and that stuff is either in storage or junked."

While the congregation waits until they're able to return, they've held services nearby at Temple Emanuel. 

"It's kind of like saying to you, 'Go live in a hotel for a while. Conduct. Go about your business, but you can't have your house," Jacobs explained. "The impact is not everybody comes. Not everybody comes in person to things we do. We can't exactly plan events that we would. It feels like our momentum has stopped. But, by the same token, the community is strong."

While the community has pushed through, rebuilding has still taken a toll.

"It just is psychologically difficult ... and practically difficult to navigate," Jacobs said. 

The building has brought the congregation together for a higher purpose for decades, and, slowly, there are reminders of what it will be like to return. 

"You're standing under what is our eternal light," Jacobs pointed out. "I'm sort of longing for us to be able to switch it on again. In my mind, it signifies the idea that Jewish people have had a hard time over history, but we're still here."

Jacobs says the construction could be completed in as early as six weeks, but that the congregation is just hoping it will be able to return by September for the beginning of the Jewish new year.