Updated June 9 at 9:30 a.m.
The Marshall Fire that roared through Boulder County on Dec. 30, 2021 was caused by two fires that later became one, according to Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson.
During a press conference Thursday morning, Johnson explained what the 17-month-long investigation revealed: that the first fire originated from buried embers from a fire on a property six days earlier. Winds that morning, uncovered those embers, reignited them and blew them into nearby vegetation. Residents on the property attempted to extinguish the fire immediately after noticing it on Dec. 30, but the high winds made it impossible to put out.
Meanwhile, a second fire was likely caused by a damaged Xcel Energy power line. Why that specific power line caused the fire, Johnson said, is “a great question for Xcel Energy.”
A statement from Xcel Energy released Thursday, however, suggests the energy company does not believe the investigation's findings that point toward a power line as the second source for the Marshall Fire.
"We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Xcel Energy’s powerlines caused the second ignition," the statement reads. "Xcel Energy did not have the opportunity to review and comment on the analyses relied on by the Sheriff’s Office and believes those analyses are flawed and their conclusions are incorrect. We have reviewed our maintenance records and believe the system was properly maintained."
The destruction the fire caused, Johnson said, was devastating.
“With every home that burned that day, people lost everything,” he said. “All their possessions, family heirlooms, were turned to ash.”
Homeowner Tawnya Somaroo texted her reactions while listening to the press conference online, noting that she felt confident in the sheriff’s conclusions.
“I’m horribly sad! Somber,” wrote Somaroo. “Sad because the fire was so awful. The conclusions are about what I expected them to be, and learning what happened doesn’t change anything or provide closure.”
The morning of the fire, strong westerly winds raced over the foothills near Boulder, gusting up to 100 miles per hour and spreading the fire. Johnson said investigators consulted the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory to learn more about how embers could last so long and spread so quickly.
“Under the right conditions, smoldering combustion can occur for weeks or even months when buried,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, investigators still do not know at what point the residential fire and the power line fire merged into one.
Thousands of emergency personnel responded to the Marshall Fire. Fire hydrants failed in some neighborhoods and propane tanks exploded. An analysis of the response that day compared the area to a war zone.
The numbers attached to the disaster are staggering: the cost of the Marshall Fire is estimated to top $2 billion. Around 37,000 residents were evacuated. More than 1,000 homes burned down in Superior, Louisville, and unincorporated parts of the county. High winds damaged at least 450 mobile homes. Roofs, siding, windows and doors were blown off and smashed. In the freezing days that followed, pipes burst. Two people died.
Sheriff Johnson also lost his family’s home in the fire and said he understands how difficult it can be to move on.
“I share in that loss, as I lost my home to the Marshall Fire,” Johnson said, choking up. ”I get a little emotional still about the impact that has had on my family.”
The investigation into the cause of the Marshall Fire took over a year. Johnson said the need for immediate emergency response in the aftermath of the fire, the complexity of the case–which involved investigations into two separate fire origins in the end, as well as limited staffing capacity at the sheriff’s office all kept the investigation from wrapping up any earlier.
“Part of it was workload and bandwidth of our investigators,” Johnson said. “And part of it was, at points during this investigation as new information was discovered, as new items were revealed, we had to continually go down separate paths to rule in or rule out specific pieces of evidence.”
District Attorney Michael Dougherty emphasized the residents who had created one of the two contributing fires had not violated any laws in building the fire on Dec. 24, a wet and cold day, and then proceeding to attempt to extinguish it by covering it with dirt. None of the residents had noticed signs of fire, like smoke or flames, in the days between Dec. 24 and Dec. 30.
Neither had Xcel Energy been found to have neglected maintenance on power lines in the area, according to the investigation.
Dougherty said no criminal charges will be filed, though civil litigation is already underway.
“We make our decisions about charging criminal offenses based on evidence and not based on emotion,” Dougherty said.”I think the information we've shared today and the conclusions we reached will certainly play a role in civil litigation.”
Investigators also looked into the possibility of fire originating from a coal-seam fire, which can originate in underground coal mines and eventually cause surface fires, but determined that likelihood as a fire source was very low.
Homeowner Jill Sellar also shared reflections via text message as she watched the press conference announcing the findings.
“Relieved to have the investigation complete and hopeful the results will help others prevent similar tragedies in the future. More emotional about it than I thought I’d be,” Sellar wrote.
In the year and a half since the incident, residents have dealt with contaminated drinking water, underinsurance, an expensive rental market and the mental health impacts of losing everything.
Some efforts to prevent this type of mass destruction in the future are moving ahead. Through a new sales tax, Boulder County is expanding its Wildfire Partners Program which helps homeowners reduce fire risks on their properties. In May, members of Colorado’s congressional delegation announced $38 million in funding from the U.S Forest Service to go towards wildfire prevention.
Johnson said despite efforts to mitigate future wildfires like the Marshall Fire, the impact on individuals affected still remains.
“We're all in different places with how we process it and how we feel about where we are today,” Johnson said. “Some of us are on a path moving forward and others are still struggling to make it to tomorrow.”
Documents and information related to the Marshall Fire investigation are now available to the public on the Boulder County website.
