NEDERLAND — It has been almost two months since the Lakeview Fire destroyed the Caribou Village Shopping Center. In that time the Nederland community has been attempting to recover, with displaced businesses reopening in new spaces, and relief efforts such as benefit concerts and fundraising events all across the Peak to Peak area.

These efforts, while helping to aid those who lost their businesses and their jobs, are not, alone, enough to offset the impact of the disaster, as the emotional ripples will be felt in the town’s core for a long time, especially with the wreckage of the shopping center still sitting there. 

The burnt husk of wood and steel lies in piles, now covered by snow as of the writing of this article. The sight of it is unavoidable while residents shop at their only grocery store, or try to start their daily routine with a Train Cars coffee, or try to bring their children to feel a little joy at the Carousel of Happiness. 

It serves as a constant reminder of that traumatic morning on October 9. To still see the hollowed shells of the beloved places that resided there evokes the ever-present sense of loss; loss for a community hub that provided a bountiful harvest of happy memories. And according to many in the community, the site of destruction also presents a great concern. 

As November came to a close, Nederland residents began to speak more loudly about the need for the destroyed remains of the Caribou Village Shopping Center to be cleaned up and removed. Community members began emailing their local government officials, the Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD), and the owners of the burned property (Tebo Properties), asking about the timeline of the investigation and of the cleanup. 

Over Thanksgiving week and weekend, these concerns grew into online conversations on the Nedheads Facebook page, with residents also asking about any potential environmental and health impacts caused by the stagnation of the disaster site. 

Nederland residents tagged Town Manager Jonathan Cain and the NFPD on the online discussion, hoping for an update, with some beginning to demand “action.”

In the comment section, other residents suggested making reports to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and even to state and federal representatives.  

The online discourse, in conjunction with The Mountain-Ear’s own reporting, has elicited many responses to the concerns raised by the public.

Tebo Properties: 

“There are still a number of moving parts with such a complex fire, but we’re moving in the right direction,” James Dixon, CEO of Tebo Properties, wrote in an email statement to The Mountain-Ear. 

“Unfortunately, the investigation is not being handled by us and is being handled by the various insurance companies—not just ours, but several of our tenants’ insurance companies as well,” Dixon stated. “Currently, we are hopeful that the investigation will be wrapped up around mid-December, but that date is subject to change.”

“Once we are given possession of the site back, we anticipate getting the demo going as soon as possible thereafter. We have already obtained quotes and are negotiating the contract.

“In terms of looking forward, we have already met with several architects and engineers and are zeroing in on selecting one to go forward with and at that time will be going all in a redesign and working with the town to get the required permits to rebuild!” 

Nederland Fire Protection District:

“Since the building was so large, the fire department, the County and the state decided that the best course of action was to bring in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to assist,” representatives for the NFPD wrote in response to a resident’s questions posted on Nedheads. 

“The ATF decided that, due to the amount of businesses that were involved, it would be best to mobilize the National Response Team. When you have so many businesses involved you then also have several different insurance companies, each bringing their own investigators.

“We had at least 10 different investigators for all the insurance companies. Unfortunately, the property owner can't begin demo until they are all completely finished.

“As far as the ATF side of the investigation, with the government shutdown there are major delays. This is due to labs being closed and then other cases that occurred first also being delayed. I wouldn't expect to hear a cause sooner than six months.”

In response to questions and concerns about fire alert systems either not alerting some residents who were in the affected area, or alerting other residents who were not in the affected area, the NFPD explained their use of “polygon” zones during emergency evacuations.

“These polygons are preplanned for ease of the initial response team to get evacuations moving. This way we can focus on the event and ensure that residents get out quickly.

“Due to the lack of wind and the recent moisture, the incident commander and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office didn't see any need to use a polygon and just wanted to evacuate the immediate area due to smoke exposure.

“Why some people across the country were notified I do not know but l'll look into that. We were using drones that could sense any type of heat signature to ensure fire wasn't growing/escaping outside of the fire scene and we remained comfortable leaving the evacuations isolated to the immediate area.”

The response from the NFPD also noted that the District has been working with the Town staff on having fire sirens installed in areas across Nederland, and that the grant process for such a project began before the Lakeview Fire.  

Boulder County and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment:

A Nederland resident publicly posted a response from Rachel Arndt, the Environmental Health Division Manager for Boulder County Public Health, regarding the environmental and health concerns associated with the disaster site. 

Arndt provided a detailed breakdown of the County’s response directly following the fire, as well as the preliminary results of the monitoring done by CDPHE’s mobile air monitoring truck. 

“We sought clarification on the type of firefighting foam used during the emergency response and ensured that the City of Boulder's Drinking Water Program was made aware.

“We received verification from the Office of Disaster Management that Class A foam was used to suppress the fire. This Class A foam did not include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which was a concern for stream and drinking water health.”

CDPHE’s air monitoring truck monitored miles downwind from the site, as well as in the neighborhoods directly north and south, and in the direct area where law enforcement and media gathered.

The truck was able to monitor for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), but not heavy metals. This test could have been performed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but they were inactive due to the government shutdown.

“The EMU measured elevated concentrations of VOCs while parked 25-50 meters downwind of the site, but none of the elevated concentrations exceeded any Colorado Health Guideline Values (HGV) or EPA Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGL).

“An acute HGV is defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency as the exposure level that is likely to be without appreciable risk of adverse non-cancer health effects in an exposed population, including sensitive individuals.

“AEGLs are expressed as specific concentrations of airborne chemicals at which health effects may occur, with Level-1 being the least severe.

“The concentrations in the neighborhoods to the north and south of the site were at typical background concentrations. As were the concentrations through Boulder Canyon.”

The Town of Nederland:

During the regular meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, Trustee Tania Corvalan, during the “Other Business” portion of the meeting, asked Town Manager Cain for an update regarding the Lakeview Fire investigation and pending cleanup process. 

“The important thing to know is that the fire is still under investigation right now,” Cain said. “There’s been multiple investigations at different levels for the fire; there was the ATF investigation, which we don’t have the results from yet; there’s insurance investigations for Tebo Properties, but also for all the different businesses, and that has been a long process. 

“Ultimately what needs to happen is the investigations need to wrap up and then the Town and Ned Fire can issue permits for the demolition, which we will do as soon as that project is brought forward.

“The international property code does allow us to take action if it takes too long,” Cain said, referring to the cleanup process, “but that window doesn’t really start until the investigation process is completed, and I think that’s probably relatively soon to occur.

“Then, generally towns get 60 to 180 days to have that demolition work become active. CDPHE will also be involved in this demolition project.”

Cain also stated that the cause of the fire may not be immediately disclosed to the public, saying: “there’s probably not going to be a public announcement about the investigation unless there is a criminal action.”

He also addressed the public’s concerns about not having received emergency notifications from Boulder County’s system Everbridge, and offered assistance by Town staff for residents on how to properly sign up to the system and how to accurately navigate its options. 

The idea of a Town Talk was floated, to provide residents a place and time to learn about Everbridge, and other emergency notification apps like Watch Duty.

Also, in relation to public discourse on the Lakeview Fire, Cain detailed that he and Town staff are working on a Frequently Asked Questions document, in order to provide the information regarding the fire that the community has been asking for.  

Trustee Corvalan followed up with a question about the Town’s pursuit, in collaboration with the NFPD, of a $175,000 Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise grant to fund the design and installation of an audible emergency alert system.

The BOT approved the Town applying for the grant from the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management back on August 5.  

“We were turned down the day of the fire and were told that we don’t have a strong enough need,” Cain explained, before admitting that he did not think the Town’s application was given much consideration.

“I have priced out several siren options. I think we can get it done for about $150,000, and so Chief Charlie Schmidtmann, Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin, and I have been working to figure out how we can fund that.

“We’re not going to be able to match any grants in 2026, but if we have an opportunity to jump on that one I think we will jump as fast as we can.”  

 Progress on hold

Though the statements made by these representatives and organizations appropriately inform the public, they only serve to reinforce that any progress on this issue is on hold until the insurance companies wrap up their part. Even then, there is no guarantee that the community will be given the answers they want.

Even after business owners are allowed to go in to assess the property, to brush the snow off and try to identify if any of the soggy, blackened debris might once have been a priceless memento, the cause of the fire may not be made immediately public.

After heavy machinery hauls the final pile of remains away there will still be questions left lingering, and the answers to those questions may be detrimental to the healing process that Nederland residents so eagerly want to begin. 

Continue following The Mountain-Ear for updates regarding the Everbridge reporting system, the insurance investigation, the cleanup and rebuild, and any other revelations related to the Lakeview Fire.