Evacuation order in area of Caribou Village Shopping Center lifted after early morning fire

DENVER (KDVR) — An emergency evacuation order was issued in the town of Nederland early Thursday morning after a fire broke out at about 3:41 a.m. at the Caribou Village Shopping Center.

The evacuation order issued at about 4:28 a.m. in the area of the shopping center was lifted by about 9:47 a.m. As of about 5 p.m., the closure at Conger and Lakeview Drive had been lifted, and the closure of eastbound Lakeview Drive and Highway 119 were slated to be lifted at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The closures on Big Springs Drive from Highway 119, westbound Big Springs Drive from Highway 119, and westbound Big Springs to Conger were still in effect until further notice. Highway 119 was reopened in both directions through Nederland, and residents were reminded to access their subdivision via Peakview Road near the Sundance Cafe off Highway 119.

The community is also being asked to conserve water where possible, “as a significant amount has been utilized in firefighting operations.” Crews were still using water to quench hot spots as of 5 p.m. Thursday.

An original evacuation order was issued for the areas between Peak to Peak and Peakview and Peak to Peak and Bridge west to Highway 119 and Hurricane Hill and the areas south of 119 between Bridge and Hurricane Hill.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office gave an update on the fire at 5:51 a.m., saying at that time that the fire had been “knocked down substantially” and was contained to the shopping center.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday afternoon that the most damage was sustained by the two-story businesses along the south side of the shopping center, which were fully engulfed in flames.

The town’s historic Carousel of Happiness, which was hand-carved by a veteran, sustained minor damage. Nearby businesses, including Train Cars Coffee and Kava and B&F Mountain Market, were spared from major damage.

No injuries were reported in the fire.

FOX31 was told a Boulder County Sheriff’s deputy first spotted the fire and called it in.

“One of our deputies happened to be on 119, close by, and heard some popping and cracking that did not sound correct, so he drove over this way and actually saw the buildings on fire,” Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said.

Some 20 businesses were destroyed.

It is unclear at this time how the fire may have started. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and CBI are helping with the investigation of the cause of the fire.

“This is a significant financial resource for the town of Nederland.    All of the businesses here contribute to the local tax and local economy and so this is really going to be a significant impact on the town,” Johnson said.

The sheriff also said the buildings may be unstable, so investigators may not be able to go into the rubble until Saturday. The sheriff said that while the town’s only large grocery store was not damaged, the building needs to be checked to see how the smoke may have impacted food in the store.

Firefighters say they were thankful for recent moisture and no wind as they fought the fire. They said that because the fire was so large, it was challenging to get enough water to put out the blaze.

A city official told FOX31’s Lisa D’Souza that there was a nature center with animals in the shopping center, and it’s unclear if any may have survived.

Fox 31 was told the city’s public works workers jumped into help to make sure the firefighters, most of whom are volunteers,  had enough water to battle the blaze.

“They (public works workers) were able to go around to different c and cisterns and (other water sources) and switch water supply from one to another,” Nederland Fire Protection District Chief Charlie Schmidtmann said.

Nederland’s town manager was at the scene, saying Nederland would do what it could to help the ravaged business. Nederland has applied for disaster assistance, according to the town manager who spent several hours at the scene Thursday.

“It’s devastating because this is an important part of our community,” Town Manager Jonathan Cain said.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is asking for any information about the fire that could help with the investigation. Information can be shared through the agency’s tip line at BCSOtips@BoulderCounty.gov or 303-441-2674.

Additionally, anyone who was in the area before, during or after the fire started, and who has photographs or videos of the fire or the immediate surrounding areas, is asked to upload the files to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office evidence submission portal, accessible here.