More than 24 hours after a fire leveled Nederland’s Caribou Village Shopping Center, the site is still considered too dangerous for fire crews and investigators to access, officials say.
Speaking with media at the scene Friday morning, Boulder County sheriff’s spokesman Vinnie Montez said investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office are on the scene.
However, Nederland Fire Protection District Chief Charlie Schmidtmann said none are expected to be able to access the charred remains until Saturday afternoon.
He 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.
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/.
One road remains closed due to the fire: Big Springs Drive eastbound from Colo. 119. Motorists headed to subdivisions east of the fire site are told to use Peakview Road.
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.
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.
Supermarket situation
Nederland’s only supermarket, the B&F Mountain Market, will remain closed “all weekend,” according to a store manager.
When asked how the situation looks, Derek Gregory said he is “not sure.” The grocery store was closed and blocked off on Thursday morning after a fire engulfed the adjacent Caribou Village Shopping Center, resulting in a “total loss” of all the building’s businesses, according to Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson.
The market might have sustained some smoke damage, according to Montez.
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.”
This story may be updated.
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