BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The Boulder County sheriff told the Problem Solvers it could be several more weeks or months before the origins of the devastating Marshall Fire are determined, but said he believes the mystery will be solved.
“I think we have very good ideas about the causes of this fire,” Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said. “The work now is, again, laboratory analysis, expert witness, those kind of things, which take time, and that’s what we’re waiting for, just like the rest of the community.”
Pelle said a couple of weeks ago, he was told it could still be weeks or months before a definitive analysis is completed. Outside experts and members of the U.S. Forest Service are working on the investigation.
“We’ve done the interviews, gathered the evidence, looked at the videos that people have turned in, followed up on all the tips, that kind of thing,” he said.
“A lot of evidence now is in laboratories and with expert witnesses, people that investigate large fires for a living and are good at it, so we’re waiting now – just like the public – to get those results back and to be instructed about their findings. You know, this is potentially a multiple cause sort of investigation, and the outcomes of the investigation are critical, and the stakes are high in regard to liability, potential criminal charges, all those things. So, we’re being careful and going slow. We want to be really sure about what we come up with when we’re done,” the Sheriff said.
The sheriff said everybody is anxious to blame something or someone for the fire, but he is not.
“I want the truth. I want the facts. I want data. I want a good, solid investigation backed up expert analysis, and that’s what we’re going to wait for,” he said.