The cause of the in October will not be released until the summer, according to Nederland fire officials.
The fire, which destroyed more than a dozen local businesses in the early hours of Oct. 9, has remained a in Nederland for more than three months. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has been the lead investigatory agency in the aftermath of the blaze, and information about what sparked the flames and where it started is not yet available, according to a .
No one was hurt in the fire.
Nederland fire personnel are expected to watch evidence testing in Maryland in the coming weeks as the ATF continues its investigation into the fire.
“The ATF is conducting a detailed and meticulous review to ensure the highest level of accuracy in its final report,” the press release states. “While Nederland Fire understands the strong community interest in receiving timely updates, we fully respect the ATF’s commitment to releasing only complete and verified information.”
Since taking over the investigation, the ATF is responsible for scene processing, evidence collection and analysis and witness interviews, according to the release.
The Nederland fire district, the Boulder County Multi-Agency Investigation Team, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control Fire Investigations Branch, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation have all participated in ATF’s investigation, the release states.
Before dawn Oct. 9, fire crews responded to Nederland’s biggest disaster since the 2013 flood closed Boulder Canyon for a month. Local, state and federal officials were on scene for days, and the debris from the blaze still sits as it did in the days following the fire that fully engulfed a 30,000-square-foot building.
As many as 50 people were among the first responders to the devastating fire that changed the town of Nederland. Residents and business owners stood outside watching the building burn for at least two days.
The fire fully engulfed both floors of the shopping center, a strip mall that included O’Neil Rocky Mountain Art, the Kaleidoscope Fine Arts Gallery, the Tres Gringos restaurant, the Oriental Healing Clinic and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Nederland substation.
Smoke was seen and smelled from as far as Boulder the day of the fire. B&F Mountain Market, the nearby grocery store on which residents depend, was closed for days, until crews made sure it was safe to open. Since then, several businesses displaced by the fire have relocated.
The debris can’t be cleaned up until the Colorado Department of Public Health is sure that the site is free of harmful substances, specifically asbestos.
