Crews hit an underground power line in Louisville damaging 2 homes rebuilt after the Marshall Fire
Shaun Howe has survived two fires in two years.
"We've been through enough," she said.
She lost her house in the Marshall Fire in 2021. Then nearly lost it again a couple of months ago.
"It sounded like every light bulb in the house was exploding... pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. All the fire alarms started saying, 'fire, fire, fire,'' she said.
She had just moved back into her newly rebuilt home when Advanced Underground - a subcontractor of CenturyLink or Lumen - hit an underground power line.
"And this cable box that has since been repaired was in flames," she said.
It wasn't the first time the company had hit an underground line in the neighborhood. The day before the fire, Howe says, crews were laying fiber optic cable when they hit a line that supplied power to the area.
"Xcel told them 'stop... you need to pothole and locate these lines properly.' They apparently ignored that and went ahead and continued to bore the next day," she said.
That's when she says they hit a second line. This one sent a bolt of high-voltage power through her home and the home of her neighbor, who is also a Marshall Fire survivor.
"When she saw the fire it was really really difficult for her and she ended up crouched down here by my fence, crying while I hugged her. We're very dear friends and I'm just glad nobody got hurt," she said.
Both homes were rebuilt more fire-resistant so Howe says her sons were able to put out the flames. But she says the power surge resulted in $8,000 in damage to the two homes.
"We lost ceiling fans, bathroom exhaust fans, microwaves," she said.
Advanced Underground, she says, initially admitted fault but then backtracked, saying the lines weren't properly located.
"They've since advised us that we can go ahead and file a homeowners insurance claim... which is an absurd thing to say to a disaster survivor," she said.
After CBS News Colorado contacted the city of Louisville, the city engineer emailed Lumen saying:
"Since this work is being completed for Lumen under a right of way permit, the city expects Lumen to step into this situation and remedy the damages."
Howe and her neighbor received checks a few days later, just before she says Advanced Underground hit another line. This one was owned by Xfinity not Xcel Energy so it took out internet not power. Still, the pattern worries Howe.
"And they should be held accountable and they should be made to stop work until they fix the problem," she said.
A spokesperson for the city of Louisville says they have been meeting with all the companies involved to make sure no additional lines are hit while Xcel Energy investigates who is to blame.
