Beech hedge brutally singed by builders fire!

Dear Gardeners, I'm new to gardening and new to here. so appologies if this is in the wrong place?!
I had some building work done over the summer, and the builders were burning rubbish in the garden in a brazier, however I came home one afternoon to find the fire brigade in my garden putting out an out of control fire caused by builders not paying close attention to the fire. It had caught a pile of garden rubbish. As a result a section of an old established Beech hedge has been badly singed, the main trunks look fine but all the green leaves were burnt and now, late March most of the twiggy bits that provide the screening look dead and have orange spots (i suspect fungus on dead wood) Has anyone experienced a burnt Beech hedge recovery?? Does anyone think it might come back to life over the next couple of years?? The damage happened in late June and now I do not see much in the way of buds.
I am very worried as the garden is enclosed by beech hedging and I may be new to gardening, but I know it will be a big expensive job to replant a section of hedge.
Many thanks for any helpful advice.
The first picture shows the aftermath, bear in mind the hedge was in full green leaved hedgeness prior to the fire. The second picture is of the branches today. Hope they help?
Callanderkath

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

It's not looking hopeful is it

Give your house insurance a call and they should be able to make a claim against the builder's insurance

 

This is a real pity. Beech makes such a beautiful hedge and takes a long time to reach a height like that. Shame on the builders!

Zooming into the recent pic, it looks like there are small leaf buds on some of the branches, so all may not be lost. Like @JWK and @shiney say... it could be worth waiting a short while as it won't be long before before the hedge will burst into leaf.

But as @shiney mentioned - insurance. I would show the pics to the builder and tell them now that if the hedge doesn't grow back, they'll need to cough up for a replacement. Not just 2-3ft high but a similar 2+ metre height hedge (which cost would cost £30+ for each individual tree) but also costs for removal of the old one and replanting a new one. Regrettably, it would be a few years before it reaches the density of the current one.