![]() The new sheriff, Curtis Johnson, now has the responsibility to report what caused the Marshall Fire. The Marshall fire may have been intentionally set.ĭue to term limits, Sheriff Joe Pelle retired at the end of 2022. And three months later, the NCAR Fire started along trails in nearby Boulder. Just a few days prior, a similar fire occurred in nearby Jefferson County that also started along a trailhead. The original flames were discovered near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead. It is possible that the fire was started accidentally.Īnd the fourth potential cause is that the fire was set intentionally. The sheriff’s department did issue a search warrant of the property after the Marshall Fire, but did not file any arrest warrants and returned all confiscated property. ![]() Just the week before, the fire department visited the compound to ensure that the bonfire was under control. A nearby religious commune burns its refuse and covers the remains using a tractor. The third potential cause might be accidental. The second theory is that these coal seam fires caused the fire when enraged by the high Chinook winds gusting to 100 mph. Even later, residents have reported eerie red flames shooting from the ground, caused by these fires encountering entombed methane gas. Small fires have started in the grasslands around Marshall over the years and as recently as the 1980s. Marshall, where the fire originated, is an old coal-mining town where the coal seams have been burning underground since the late 1850s. Residents and local business owners affected by the fire have filed a lawsuit against Xcel claiming that they caused or significantly contributed to the conflagration. However, a YouTube video exists of power cables dancing in the winds at a nearby intersection and throwing sparks 10-20 feet into the air at that time. ![]() The fire was not started by a downed power cable as no others were found. When Xcel came out the next day, the low-hanging cable turned out to be a communications cable and not one of theirs. The first is that Xcel Energy overhead power cables started it. Within an hour, over 2,000 acres will have burned, along with hundreds of homes and the two cities of Louisville and Superior ordered evacuated.įour major theories exist as the cause of the fire. They set up a roadblock and requested Xcel come. When they arrived, they found a low-hanging cable, which they assumed belonged to the local energy company, Xcel Energy. on that fateful morning, but Mountain View Fire and Rescue was not called until just after 11 a.m. Residents smelled smoke as early as 9 a.m. And yet, over a year later, no official cause has been announced explaining the beginnings of the worst conflagration in Colorado history. Driven by 90-plus mph winds, this occurred within 15 minutes of the beginning of the Marshall Fire. In Colorado, once a fire crosses the boundaries between two firefighting districts, the county sheriff is responsible for determining the cause of the fire. The fury of the wind decides what burns and what stands untouched. Scenes during the fire are surreal with one house engulfed in flames while its neighbor sits quietly next-door displaying Christmas lights. Though everyone’s story is unique, common experiences abound. ![]() And yet miraculously, only two persons are killed and eight injured during the fire. Most flee without receiving any warning, leaving with little more than the shirts on their backs, escaping a fire burning minutes behind. In a little over four hours, the fire, fueled by high-velocity Chinook winds, burns 6,026 acres, consumes 1,084 structures and causes over $2 billion in damage. 30, 2021, will be remembered as the most destructive inferno in Colorado history - and one of the top 15 worst fires in the western U.S. The Marshall Fire outside of Boulder that ignited on Dec.
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