Nearly two years after Caldor Fire, rebuilding continues in communities and Eldorado National Forest
GRIZZLY FLATS – Nearly two years later, communities in the Caldor Fire burn scar are still rebuilding what they once lost.
When driving around Grizzly Flats, one can see a community still stuck in time. It is constantly reminded of the past while not moving forward quickly enough. What used to be a U.S. Post Office is now an empty lot surrounded by fire-weakened trees.
Cory Oden told CBS13 he had not lived long in Grizzly Flats when flames tore through his neighborhood.
"Eleven months," he said.
For the last year-and-a-half, he has paid for not only rent but also a mortgage on a home that does not physically exist.
The disabled veteran now lives in his RV.
"A lot of people come up and see the devastation," Oden said. "I still saw beauty in it. I know it will take a while for all the trees to come back but I still see beauty in it."
He is not the only one who still sees beauty in the ashes — so does the Sugar Pine Foundation.
"We all went through it," said executive director Maria Mircheva. "I had to evacuate, too. It's good to feel like you can give something back and do something."
The restoration group will plant 1,000 trees Saturday inside the Eldorado National Forest. It is currently looking for additional volunteers.
The year-old seedlings can take up to 75 years to mature, but the foundation believes the trees will offer emotional healing immediately.
The group began working closely with the forest following the Caldor Fire in 2021, which burned nearly 23,000 acres while destroying more than 1,000 buildings.
"Many people within the Forest Service feel it is a critical step, it is an absolutely necessary step to re-establishing the conditions that I think the public really expect [from] their national forest," said Marc Young, a timber management officer for the park.
While people can appreciate the task, there are still homeowners who say they are primarily angry at the U.S. Forest Service for not more doing to contain the inferno.
In the rebuilding process for communities, they feel abandoned.
Through a statement, an Eldorado National Forest spokesperson told CBS13, in part: "After a major event be it fire, flood or significant damage it is the responsibility of the agency to restore access to the public lands."
The rest is left to communities.
At this point, Oden just wants the simple things in life.
"All I want is my house, the security that I always had. I want a place I can lay my head, take a shower, go in the bathroom," he said.
