BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) – New records show the property that the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office has investigated, as the potential origin of the Marshall fire has a history of controlled burns.
The property, located in the 5300 block of Eldorado Springs Drive, has had 13 fire-related calls for service since January 2018. Of those calls, 12 had to report controlled burns. The fire department did not respond personally to any of these calls.
According to telephone numbers listed in the report, the person who made each of these calls may be associated with the Twelve Tribes group located on the same property.
The report does not include a call to a nearby address on December 24, 2021 regarding a fire on the property. However, a report obtained by FOX31 Problem Solvers shows that someone called 911 at. 11:50 “for the report of a garbage or grass fire seen from a passerby driving on Highway 93.”
It goes on to say: “There, the homeowner burned rubbish in a field of land. The fire was visible from the road. He said he would burn railway tracks for the next few hours. He also had a front loader and a water source established for control measures.”
Firefighters left the scene after 11 minutes. It is unclear if anyone from the property called the fire department or the dispatch to warn them of the controlled burn on December 24th. According to the BCSO, the authorities are not releasing information related to that call at this time on the grounds that the disclosure is not in the public interest. ”
Similarly, authorities have not released information on any calls for service to the Twelve Tribes property from December 30, 2021, which is the day the Marshall fire began.
“I really do not know where it started. I know for a fact that I saw smoke there at 11:10 when I drove by,” Anne Michaels told FOX31.
Michaels says she saw smoke coming from the backyard of the Twelve Tribes property and began filming it.
“I think because it was so windy and it was just, it seemed so chaotic and seeing smoke in the air in a small neighborhood blowing against houses,” she said.
According to Michaels, she called 911 when she saw flames and even knocked on doors to warn neighbors. She hopes her video has a clue that helps investigators figure out how and why the fire started.
“It’s so important to me because I never want it to happen again, and the more information we have to prevent it, it’s worth every single little video,” she said.
FOX31 has approached Twelve Tribes several times, but no one has responded.
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