Just 1' would be a real pain to try and refinish.
If your not going to open up the wall to make sure there is not damage like you should then remove the 1/4 rd and baseboards and cut the sheetrock 1" less then the width of the baseboard.
Reason being is you can refinish with out having to deal with a visable seam.
There's going to be water trapped between the bottom plates and the subflooring, some is going to be wicked up the wall by now in the sheetrock and yes the fiberglass will not dry out and should have been replaced, at least the bottom part.
If your not going to open up the wall to make sure there is not damage like you should then remove the 1/4 rd and baseboards and cut the sheetrock 1" less then the width of the baseboard.
Reason being is you can refinish with out having to deal with a visable seam.
There's going to be water trapped between the bottom plates and the subflooring, some is going to be wicked up the wall by now in the sheetrock and yes the fiberglass will not dry out and should have been replaced, at least the bottom part.