Colorado officials are reportedly investigating the cause of the wildfire that torched hundreds of homes in Boulder County last week.
World reported that Boulder County officials have already began its investigations over the weekend through an undisclosed private property for which a search warrant was issued. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle did not, however, respond to questions regarding suspicions on arson. Search investigations are said to have been narrowed down in a small neighborhood near the county.
The area in focus involves a shed that was burning at the same time the fire started and a video of which was uploaded and went viral. World raised that the possibility of the shed causing the wildfire or that the fire came from existing flames is unclear at this time.
As reported by Christianity Daily, the wildfire was earlier said to have been caused by strong winds of 100mph and sparked by downed power lines. The Marshal fire that initially encompassed 1,600 hectares on Thursday have spread to 6,000 hectares by Saturday, resulting to a total of 1,000 demolished buildings.
The Marshal fire have displaced more than 30,000 people mostly coming from Louiseville and Superior that had to be evacuated to centers as whole neighborhoods were "lost to flames." Miraculously, there was no one reported killed by the fire. What was reported were six injured, and three persons missing. One of the three missing persons were recovered during the weekend as searches are still being conducted by rescue teams for the remaining two.
In a statement dated January 1, Boulder County Commissioners expressed their "profound sympathy" to all those who lost their homes while expressed gratitude to all responders and even to the evacuees "for their patience and grace while evacuating a tense situation."
The Boulder County Commissioners raised that their efforts continue in assisting evacuees especially in terms of providing information they need on the status of their homes. While the county's Disaster Assistance Center opened on Monday to provide "consultations for property loss" and to assist in the filing of "claims, financial and food assistance" among other needs of the evacuees.
"Recovery will take time. Right now, we know many are still anxious to learn whether they lost their homes. Those who did will be seeking new housing until they are able to rebuild. Those who were evacuated but have homes to return to are still anxious about the condition of their homes as temperatures drop and the snow descends. Please know that Boulder County emergency management is working with the towns of Louisville and Superior to provide this information as quickly as possible and to allow you to return to your home as soon as it is safe to do so," the statement said.
As of Tuesday, the Boulder County announced that the Marshal Fire "remains 6,026 acres and 100% of the perimeter has been contained." Some residents were already given clearance to return to their homes following precautionary measures to be taken such as preventing their pipes from freezing since snow as returned to the area and a drop in temperatures was experienced overnight. Caution was also given for some "structures may be unstable and pose a hazard for those working and living in affected areas."
President Joe Biden approved on Saturday the disaster declaration for Colorado. Governor Jared Polis, as per Colorado Politics, said Biden's initially gave verbal authorization for the declaration before it was finalized officially. Polis has urged Biden to visit the county after conveying his "sorrow" for the loss of so many people in the state and expressed his "desire to help rebuild" it.
