Today, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle announced that victims of either the Marshall fire can find all the help and services they might need at the Disaster Assistance Center.
The Disaster Assistance Center opened today at Boulder County Southeast County Hub at 1755 S. Public Road in Lafayette. The center will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for several weeks, so residents do not need to rush down, Gov. Jared Polis said.
Specialists from Boulder County Housing and Human Services, Public Health and Community Services are there to help locals find the resources they need. Additionally, representatives from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mental Health Partners, area government and nonprofit organizations and major insurers are on hand.
According to Polis, the center is running smoothly and without long lines. There people are able to obtain housing vouchers and gift cards for food and other needs.
Pelle also announced that Downtown Superior is reopening today for residents and business owners and he hopes Spanish Hill will be open by the end of the day.
For the past few days, checkpoints have been set up in neighborhoods recently reopened after the fire, in some places causing long lines. Pelle said starting tomorrow locals can go to the Ascent Community Church at 550 McCaslin Blvd. to get a pass. The pass will allow victims of the fire to get through police barricades into soft closure areas — areas not currently under evacuation orders. Pelle believed the Boulder Valley School District has plans to issue passes for parents and students traveling through soft closure areas to get to school.
Xcel Energy expects to have electricity restored to all the homes able to accept it by the end of day Thursday, along with relighting efforts for natural gas. ComCast has restored 40% of customers without service due to non-power outage issues. It continues to work to restore all service in the area.
Boulder County Disaster Recovery Manager Garry Sanfacon said the recovery is like a marathon, not a sprint. The process will take time. He encouraged victims to practice self-care and to get back into normal routines as much as possible.
"Self-care is critical," he said.
Pelle refused to talk about the ongoing fire investigation, despite reporters' best efforts. He said at this time several people are being interviewed but the process could takes weeks or months. He vowed that investigators were taking their time to do this methodically and correctly because "the stakes are very high," he said. As of the 2 p.m. press conference today, he said there were no new updates to report.
Two people remain missing. Pelle said the efforts to find them are slow as first responders are working with small tools and by hand. Louisville Police Chief Dave Hayes said cadaver dogs have finished searching the northside of Louisville and are working their way south.
"There are currently no missing persons in Louisville," Hayes said.
"It is remarkable that of a fire of this speed and size in the area that is was that there are only two people missing," Polis said, adding "That should be a warning to all of us that when you get a pre-evac or evacuation notice, hop to it."
