Nederland residents want to pick up the pieces and move on from a town shopping center in October, but some struggle to move on as debris from the blaze remains out in the open three months later.
Thatap because the needs to be sure that the site is free of harmful substances, specifically asbestos, once debris from the Caribou Village Shopping Center is disturbed. Tebo Properties, the owner of the land the center sat on for 40 years, has conducted asbestos testing that came back negative. But CDPHE requires additional testing as asbestos-containing to confirm that no asbestos-containing materials were used in portions of the building.
Bill Rigler, a Tebo Properties spokesperson, said that CDPHE requires that multiple portions of the property can be tested, with property divided into a grid layout and soil from each individual grid tested.
“We’ve been working closely with CDPHE, the Town of Nederland and Congressman (Joe) Neguse’s office to work through some very specific requirements related to the safe removal of debris and further soil testing,” James Dixon, CEO of Tebo Properties, said in a statement to the Daily Camera. “We’ve been waiting on the appropriate approvals since mid-December, and we’re ready to start clearing debris immediately so that the rebuilding process can begin.”
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the Oct. 9 fire, and there is still no official cause.
What was the holdup?
In a December email to the Daily Camera, Zachary Aedo, a spokesperson for CDPHE, wrote that Tebo Properties had to contact a state-certified building inspector to test for asbestos-containing materials. Aedo mentioned that the test Tebo Properties conducted was valid but “insufficient” to declare the whole site asbestos-free. Itap possible that other portions of the building were constructed with different materials, such as materials that contain more than 1% asbestos.
“We recognize that this process can feel frustrating, particularly following a fire, but it is put in place to prevent asbestos spills,” Aedo wrote. “We are not able to create alternative pathways or exceptions outside what the law allows. Our role is not to delay cleanup, but to ensure that when demolition occurs, it does not create additional health risks for workers or the surrounding community.”
Hiring a state-certified asbestos consultant to test and assess materials on the site is the first step for a property owner after a fire, Aedo wrote. Then, using that information, the owner submits a demolition plan to the state to ensure there’s a “proper safety plan,” Aedo wrote to the Daily Camera. If everything is in order, the state will approve the plan.
“The state’s goal is to aid the property owner in rebuilding or re-using the property safely,” Aedo wrote.
Jonathan Cain, town manager for Nederland, said the town is doing what it can to make sure that demolition and cleanup can be ready to go once the state signs off on the testing. He said the town understands frustrations in the community and the steps that CDPHE is taking to make sure itap safe to move on.
The hold-up has led to frustrations and worries among the town’s residents.
“I mourn again and again every time I drive into town and see it. Itap like a brick in my stomach, itap just weight. I think everybody in Nederland is feeling that right now,” said Jeffrey Green, owner of Very Nice Brewing, one of the business fronts lost in the fire. “We would really like to see them start cleaning it up. Itap like this dead, decaying body sitting in the middle of town.”
What is asbestos?
broadly refers to six naturally occurring minerals: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Those are divided into two classes, serpentine and amphibole. Chrysotile is the only serpentine asbestos, meaning its fibers appear curly. The other types of asbestos are amphibole, meaning their fibers are needle-like.
There is no uniform federal ban on all asbestos in the U.S. Rather, itap been heavily regulated, is no longer imported, or just no longer used in materials. Ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos in the U.S.
The shopping center was built in the 1980s.
Chrysotile is the most common form of asbestos in commercial and industrial products. Its flexible fibers allow it to be woven with other materials.
Chrysotile asbestos is strong and great for insulation and resistant to heat, electricity and corrosion. That led it to be prime for such uses as flooring, roofing, fireproofing and even the . However, disturbing asbestos can cause those tiny fibers to float into the air and enter the lungs. That can such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
To test for asbestos, one may take a sample from a chipped or exposed area suspected of containing asbestos and then send the sample to a lab for testing.
Health concerns
Some residents are worried about what was burned when Caribou Village went up in flames and what was blown around town by the wind.
“I was a firefighter for four years and remember learning about the type of toxins that come off after a fire,” Green said in December. “Now we have snow hopefully coming because we need snow. But (snow) is going to fall on that toxic heap and (itap) going to melt, and all that meltap going to go right into (Boulder Creek) there.”
In response to concerns over water contamination, CDPHE spokesperson Gabrielle Johnston wrote in an email that standard water treatment processes are able to remove contaminants such as metals and particulates.
“CDPHE will continue coordinating with local partners and respond if additional actions are needed,” Johnston wrote.
CDPHE recommends that people avoid the debris, which is fenced off. It also recommends that nearby residents deep-clean their surfaces, and that anyone experiencing “new or worrisome” health symptoms” contact their health provider. CDPHE also where it offers guidance on indoor air quality after a fire.
Cain said that air quality testing has been done and that the town isn’t aware of toxicity issues within the debris.
“When we start disturbing things, we want to make sure that stays true,” Cain said.
Picking up the pieces
Nederland is reminded of the fire every day.
The charred wood and piles of debris sit in the heart of Nederland. If someone who lost their business wants to simply stock up on groceries for the week, they have to see where their livelihood was ripped away from them.
“It looks like a war zone,” remarked Charles Wood, president of the Board of Directors.
The carousel was just a stone’s throw away from the fire, but it was spared.
“You see the same thing every day for, in my case, 12-14 years working the carousel, and then one day itap just this,” Wood said, looking out at the black heap. “You won’t see all those people that you saw probably once a week, at least. The shop owners and people that worked there, you don’t see them. Itap weird.”
A small silver lining is that winter tends to be slow for Nederland, Wood said. He hopes the debris is gone by the summertime when tourism picks up in town.
The fire wiped out about 20 businesses, “probably half or more than half of the businesses in Nederland combined,” Green said.
Once demolition and cleanup are complete, Tebo Properties plans to build a new shopping center. Stephen Tebo, founder and owner of Tebo Properties, said that the building will still match the vibe of Nederland.
Some businesses took what insurance money they could, picked up and moved on. Others are trying to get back to normal, and some are mostly operating as usual.
Green opened Very Nice’s new tap room in Black Hawk in 2024, and he’s been able to lean on it since the fire. He’s grateful for his customers at the new location, which is in Gilpin County and about 10 miles from the old location in Caribou Village. But Gilpin County has a small population relative to Boulder County, so Green doesn’t think that tap room is sustainable long-term on its own. In the meantime, he’s trying to reopen a new Nederland location in an old bank building just across the street from his old brewery.
“We felt that people could come and enjoy us from any age, and people could bring their families and they did,” Green said, later adding that Very Nice’s Nederland location was “the type of place where a family could bring in a crock pot, plug it in, watch the game.”
The old bank building figures to be a new business hub, and Green is excited for the opportunity to be a part of that. But, he said, he still faces insurance issues with paying for new equipment to open the new location.
John Thompson admits that among those who lost their business in the fire, he was one of the lucky ones. The day of the blaze, he was on the horn with the owner of a building right across the street. Within weeks, his outdoor store, Mountain Man, was up and running.
Thompson has new gear from his vendors and tons of used gear donated by the community.
“The amount of donations from the locals in that back room? Thatap half my store, right now,” Thompson said. “If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t have been able to get open again.”
Thompson and Green said business owners may have the opportunity soon to rummage through the remains and see if there’s anything of value left.
But just like their neighbors, all they want is to start anew.
“At this point, I don’t really care,” Thompson said. “Itap like seeing the body at the funeral. It’d be fine, but itap all gone.”
