Colorado investigators ask for pictures, video of fire that destroyed Nederland shopping center

Just a day after a devastating fire destroyed the Caribou Village Shopping Center in Nederland, Colorado, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office asked the public for video or pictures of the fire to help with the investigation. Investigators said they most likely wouldn't have a determination about the origin or cause of the fire until crews were able to get inside the burned businesses. 

Vinnie Montez with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, along with Charlie Schmidtmann, the Fire Chief for Nederland Fire Protection District, gave the media an update on the investigation from the parking lot of the shopping center on Friday morning. 

Montez said that investigators are asking anyone who may have video or pictures of the shopping center or the area where the fire took place, either before, during, or after the fire, to submit those online to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office or call 303.441.3674.

"We're asking on behalf of the investigators involved that anybody with information or videos or cameras of any kind that have that information to please go to bouldersheriff.gov, click the link, and then submit that evidence for investigators to review," said Montez.    

Montez provided a list of the 18 businesses destroyed in Thursday's fire. Those include Nederland Chiropractic and Wellness, Tres Gringos restaurant, Spinning Silica Art Collective, O'Neill Rocky Mountain Art, Kaleidoscope Fine Arts Gallery, Linda's Pizza, Dam Liquor Store, Tadasana Mountain Yoga, Mountain Man Outdoor Store, Very Nice Brewing Company, Columbine Family Care, The Laundry Room, Augustina's Winery, Boulder County Sheriff's Office Substation, the Shop, Wild Bear Nature Center, Brightwood Music, and Picasso Hair and Artistry. 

The grocery store, which shares a parking lot with the shopping center, suffered minor damage in the fire. The store is scheduled to open on Oct. 13.

A deputy with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office noticed the fire at the Caribou Village Shopping Center at 3:41 a.m. Thursday. Neighborhoods surrounding the businesses at 20 Lakeview Drive were evacuated, and some roads were closed during the firefight. Residents were allowed to return home about 10 a.m. The only road that remained closed on Friday was on Big Springs Drive directly behind the shopping center that burned. 

Montez said on Friday that the sheriff's office had not received any reports of injuries or missing persons related to the fire, save for some animals that perished in the fire. 

He said that investigators met on Friday morning to determine the course of the investigation and division of labor between the agencies investigating the fire. Those agencies include the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, in addition to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office and Nederland Fire Protection District.

Montez said that the Boulder County Sheriff's Office substation will be relocated to a temporary location. 

"We are the contract law enforcement provider for the town of Nederland. You may recall news a few years ago that their police department had whittled away, and it's really expensive to run a small police department, so they signed a contract with us a few years ago to be their law enforcement agency, which is why our deputy was in town, noticed the fire and then saw the fire spreading," said Montez.

Schmidtmann said that for the property owner to rebuild, the burned remains of the building will have to be removed and "they'll take it down to the bare Earth" and then begin from there. He said the new structure must meet 2024 building codes. He also said the building that burned did not have any historical designation. 

Charlie Schmidtmann, the Fire Chief for Nederland Fire Protection District, talked about the stress of fighting the fire on the town's water system. 

"This is a small town, and this was a very large fire. We used hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. We had great assistance from the town. They had to move water sources throughout their system to make sure that we had a sufficient water supply. We did run low on this side of the building. We were able to make up for that with tenders and ponds," said Schmidtmann.

Xcel Energy released this statement about the fire to CBS Colorado: "We serve Nederland both natural gas and electric services. Our crews were called out to fire yesterday, which is typical protocol. Our electric crews de-energized equipment so firefighters could safely do their job. Our natural gas crew isolated the gas lines that served the building."

Montez said that the investigators are keeping a close eye on the weather and how it may impact, if at all, the investigation.   

"Anytime you have weather move in that could impact the investigation, I'm sure investigators are looking at that. They're well aware the weather's moving in, so they'll be making contingency plans for that to do what's appropriate," said Montez. 

On Thursday, Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said that investigators will be able to get inside the charred structure on Saturday "at the earliest."

The building was still smoldering on Friday, with smoke billowing up from the remains of the burned building.