More than 24 hours after a fire leveled Nederland’s Caribou Village Shopping Center, the site was still considered too dangerous for fire crews and investigators to access, and the cause of the fire remained unknown.
Speaking with media at the scene Friday morning, Boulder County sheriff’s spokesman Vinnie Montez said investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Colorado Bureau of Investigation; Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control; and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office were on the scene.
However, Nederland Fire Protection District Chief Charlie Schmidtmann said none were expected to be able to access the charred remains until Saturday afternoon.
Schmidtmann said there is still no word on the cause or source of the fire, which spread quickly through the shopping center in the predawn hours Thursday, destroying every business located there.
Montez said he did not want to speculate the fire being related to any past threats made at the shopping center. He said that officials plan to “canvas, research, interview and review submitted videos and photos” in their investigation.
He reiterated that there are no reported injuries and no reports of anyone who might have been camping in the area.
The sheriff’s office is asking for anyone who has photos or video from before, during or after the fire to contact the office at bcsotips@bouldercounty.gov, by phone at 303-441-3674, or at bouldercounty.gov/safety/sheriff/.
State, federal help
By 12:40 p.m. Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Joe Neguse, whose 2nd Congressional District includes Nederland, had arrived to speak with gathered reporters and to offer their help to business owners and others affected by the fire.
“We look forward to doing everything the state can, with Boulder County, to work with Ned to support the small businesses and, rather, the residents of Nederland at this time,” said Polis said, who called the shopping center “the linchpin of the community.”
Polis said that the state will work to ensure any unemployment insurance gets to affected business owners and employees “seamlessly.” The governor also told reporters that the state could help direct affected locals to the state’s Office of Economic Development for any relevant resources.
The area around the shopping center is expected to be closed for up to a few weeks as investigators determine the origin and cause of the fire, Polis said.
Neguse took the opportunity to note that members of the ATF have been working without pay during the federal government shutdown, adding that he hopes the shutdown comes to a close soon.
He said that business owners and residents affected by the blaze can contact his office if they need help accessing federal assistance or getting any crucial documents.
“This community is a strong community; it is a wonderful, eclectic community,” Neguse said. “It will rally in a way that it has already rallied, and I’m excited to tell my daughter, who loves the (Carousel of Happiness), … that it will be open here in short order.”
Effect on community
Nederland’s only supermarket, the B&F Mountain Market, will remain closed “all weekend,” a store manager said early Friday.
When asked how the situation looks, Derek Gregory said he is “not sure.”
The grocery store, which shares a parking lot with the shopping center, was closed and blocked off on Thursday morning. It might have sustained smoke damage, Montez said.
Town Manager Jonathan Cain said that the town hopes to get the store open soon.
“It’s a pretty critical resource not just for the town of Nederland but the entire region,” Cain said, speaking to reporters on Thursday. “We want to keep it open and a resource for the community.”
Nederland Mayor Billy Gilbin, speaking Friday afternoon, said he hopes the B&F Market will open as soon as Monday.
The grocery store is the only one of its size in Nederland. Gilbin said the town’s food pantry has been “beefed up” and that the Mountain People’s Co-op is open for business for those who need groceries in the meantime.
On Friday, one road remained closed due to the fire: Big Springs Drive eastbound from Colo. 119. Motorists headed to subdivisions east of the fire site were asked to use Peakview Road.
Schmidtmann said Friday that firefighters used hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to fight the blaze, adding that the building was up to code but had no fire suppression mechanisms. Residents in the area are no longer being asked to conserve water.
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