Investigators seeking the cause of a Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and buildings have narrowed their search to a neighborhood near Boulder. It's the same area where a passer-by captured video of a burning shed the day the fire began.
A sheriff’s official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that several properties were under investigation, including one in the Marshall Mesa area, about 2 miles west of the hard-hit town of Superior. A National Guard Humvee blocked access to the neighborhood on Monday.
Louisville Police Chief Dave Hayes said authorities used cadaver dogs to re-check destroyed properties as a precaution. He said no one was reported missing in the heavily damaged city, but that “doesn’t mean we won’t find something.” Hayes told reporters after the briefing that he lost his own home and was wearing a change of clothes he asked someone to buy for him.Gov. Jared Polis told the briefing that it was “remarkable that a fire of this speed and size” resulted in only two people missing.
While homes that burned to the foundations were still smoldering in some places, the blaze was no longer considered an immediate threat — especially with frigid temperatures and a blanket of snow that fell Saturday. “Is there toxic fumes? Are we OK to move back in?” asked Nancy Alderson, who said she was worried about plastics and other materials consumed in the blaze.