Original post on the TimesCall (if you have a sub): https://www.timescall.com/2022/01/02/marshall-fire-origin-twelve-tribes/).
Full text of story:
Boulder County investigators narrow Marshall fire’s origin to single neighborhood
Focus turns to area off Colorado 93 and Marshall Road where video shows burning shed on religious sect's property -Twelve Tribes a white supremacist religious cult.
By SHELLY BRADBURY | sbradbury@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: January 2, 2022 at 3:49 p.m. | UPDATED: January 3, 2022 at 10:18 a.m.
Investigators narrowed the point of origin of the most destructive wildfire in state history to a neighborhood off Colorado 93 and Marshall Road near where a passer-by captured video of a burning shed the morning the fire started, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said Sunday.
“The fire originated somewhere in that neighborhood,” he said during a news briefing on Marshall fire recovery efforts. “There was a viral video that was posted of a shed on fire. We don’t know that that shed started the fire or whether it was secondary.”
Pelle emphasized that investigators are still working to find the exact origin and cause of the wildfire, which, on the back of hurricane-force winds, burned across 6,219 acres Thursday, destroying or damaging more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County. Two people remain missing and feared dead.
The sheriff refused to speculate on the fire’s cause several times during the briefing.
“It’s complicated and it’s under snow,” Pelle said. “We will sort it out. It’s an active, open deal and the outcome of that investigation is vital, there is so much at stake. So we are going to be careful.”
A man who lives near the intersection where the Marshall fire is believed to have ignited, Mike Zoltowski, said Sunday he believes he witnessed the start of the wildfire on the property next door to him — a pack of houses and land occupied by members of The Twelve Tribes, a Christian religious sect.
A still frame from video shot ...
A still frame from video shot by Mike Zoltowski shows the early stages of the Marshall fire on Thursday around 5325 Eldorado Springs Drive in Boulder County. Zoltowski looked out his window at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday to see a firetruck making a beeline for the neighboring property, he said. Smoke b
... keep reading on reddit ➡https://www.boulderoem.com/boulder-county-releases-updated-list-of-structures-damaged-and-destroyed-in-the-marshall-fire/
> Updated totals confirmed to date countywide are 1084 residential structures destroyed and 149 residential structures damaged. Total countywide actual value of residential damage is estimated to be $513,212,589. > > Updated totals confirmed to date countywide are 7 commercial structures destroyed and 30 commercial structures damaged. Total countywide actual value of commercial damage is incomplete and being calculated.
reminder that $513 million number is county assessed value...which was determined with data back from 2018 to 2020. current market value should be much higher
mapping of the structures lost: https://bouldercounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9f3314c39ad64fac925101aae0bdd62c
I was hiking with a friend in Bemis woods and we were off the path a bit in a denser and more secluded area when for a brief second we saw some creature run away really quickly jump over a branch and then disappear. The ground was covered with like a foot high layer of dead brush so it could have just been hiding.
It was very dark brown, possibly black and it was pretty furry. I thought it was a black cat at first but it looked beefier than that. I thought it was maybe a fisher but they don’t seem to be native to here, and a beaver isn’t that furry or move like that. So maybe it was a large mink, a marten or a very displaced fisher?
What are your thoughts?
Edit: if anybody is in the Chicagoland area and looking for a hike, i suggest Bemis woods. 41°49'25"N 87°54'39"W is right around where my friend and i saw the animal. There is a large open area inside of the woods that is covered with dead straw/reed material and I’m convinced the critter was hiding under this layer if anyone else wants to check it out. If you plug the coordinates into Google earth you’ll see the open area im taking about
Pictures of my home and neighborhood
The title says it all.
Things went from “there’s a grass fire over there” to several neighbors houses are on fire in just a few minutes. We only had time to collect some of the kid’s clothes, important documents, and computers/phones/tablets before evacuating.
It’s heartbreaking to hear my kids sobbing about missing and wanting to go home. I want to get their lives back to normal so we can all begin to heal from this.
We were insured, but not for this level of destruction and I hope that you’ll consider giving something to help us rebuild.
Thank you.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/blessing-the-miculka-family
