Authorities put the cost of fighting the fire at $8.8 million by Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service has warned it could be mid-July before the Waldo Canyon Fire is fully under control.

As much as the monetary cost, the blaze has also taken a major emotional toll.

Ted and Kate Stefani returned Sunday to what had once been their home. Video they shot, and shared with CNN, showed no structure left to speak of -- just a big hole in the ground where their home once stood, except for one stray column from near their front door plus a charred seat from which they'd first spotted flames in the distance.

Yet they, like Solich, said the support of others -- from neighbors to the Red Cross to local, state and national officials, including President Barack Obama, who visited last week -- have helped them get through the crisis.

"It just still smells like smoke, it's just pretty sad," Kate Stefani said. "But the good thing is we have a lot of neighbors whose houses didn't burn, and they have been out here giving hugs."

Added her husband Ted, "We're going to rebuild there. We love that block, we just love that community ... And it's our home."