A blaze erupted at the Caribou Village Shopping Center in Nederland early Thursday morning, prompting evacuations for some Boulder County residents. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said the fire started shortly after 3 a.m.
Not long after the fire began, officials issued an evacuation order covering areas between Peak to Peak and Peakview, as well as Peak to Peak and Bridge—stretching west to Highway 119 and Hurricane Hill. The order also included neighborhoods south of Highway 119 between Bridge and Hurricane Hill.
There was also a road closure at Big Springs and CO 119, also known as Bridge Street, during the firefight. The public was urged to stay away from the area to allow fire crews access to the shopping center and to investigate what caused that fire.
By around 6:30 a.m., firefighters reported that the blaze at 20 Lakeview Drive had been “largely knocked down.”
Authorities, however, said it was still uncertain when evacuated residents would be able to return home.
The Boulder Police Department posted on the social media platform X that residents who see smoke in the city should wait to call 911 because it is likely from the Nederland shopping center fire.
Nederland gained notoriety with the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival, which has moved in recent years from the small Colorado mountain community to Estes Park. Apparently, the stresses on a town of 1,500 for a festival that attracted -- at the time -- more than 20,000 people became too great.
