The most destructive wildfire in Colorado history started in two places — on the grounds of an international religious cult and from a broken power line about 2,000 feet away, Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said Thursday, announcing the results of a 17-month investigation into the origin of the Marshall fire.
Embers from a fire that was thought to have been extinguished a week earlier on the Twelve Tribes‘ property at 5325 Eldorado Springs Drive reignited under high winds and began the Marshall fire on Dec. 30, 2021, Johnson said. About an hour later, hot particles from a defective Xcel Energy line ignited a second blaze, he said.
“The two fires became one at some point,” Johnson said during a news conference in Boulder.
A leader in the Twelve Tribes, Tim Pendergrass, declined to comment at length when reached Thursday. “All I can say is it’s a terrible tragedy,” he said, adding that he does not live locally.
A spokeswoman for Xcel Energy, Michelle Aguayo, denied that the company’s equipment started the fire and called the sheriff’s investigation “flawed” and “incorrect.”
“We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Xcel Energy’s power lines caused the second ignition, which according to the report started 80 to 110 feet away from Xcel Energy’s power lines in an area with underground coal fire activity,” the statement said.
Investigators looked at the possibility that an underground coal seam that has burned for nearly a century under Marshall Mesa somehow ignited the fire, but said Thursday that the coal seam almost certainly did not contribute to the Marshall fire’s ignition.
The Marshall fire was the most costly in Colorado history, destroying more than $2 billion in property. Two people — Robert Sharpe, 69, and Nadine Turnbull, 91 — died in the wildfire, and more than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Thursday that he will not press criminal charges in connection with the wildfire’s start. Investigators found no evidence that members of the Twelve Tribes intended to start the Marshall fire or that Xcel Energy was negligent in maintaining its equipment, Dougherty said.
On Dec. 24 — a cool and rainy day — Twelve Tribes members burned debris in a fire on their property that a passerby reported to the fire department. Neighbors said the group frequently burned trash and debris on their compound.
Firefighters responded that day and decided the fire didn’t violate any laws or regulations, The Denver Post first reported last year. None of the Twelve Tribes members expected that smoldering embers from that fire would re-ignite six days later, Dougherty said.
The second ignition point from the fire was due to a defective Xcel Energy power line, authorities said. The wire had become “unmoored” from a pole, Dougherty said. He added that investigators found no evidence of criminally negligent maintenance or actions by Xcel.
“It appears the extraordinary high winds on Dec. 30 caused the power line to disconnect and then touch other lines, which caused sparking and hot particles to be released into a bed of receptive fuel — the dry grass,” Dougherty said.
Aguayo said that Xcel officials believe the company properly maintained its power lines and don’t think the second fire, which ignited after the blaze on the Twelve Tribes’ property, caused any property damage.
“We believe the second fire burned into an area already burned by the fire from the first ignition, and did not cause damage to any homes or businesses,” the statement said.
Johnson said that investigators did not examine when or where the two blazes merged or the area each burned, only where they began.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Fire consumes a home in Superior on Dec. 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County. The towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned so far from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 miles per hour along the foothills.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Smoke from nearby fires obscures visibility in Superior on Dec. 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County — the towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A horse runs through Grasso Park in Superior on Dec. 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County. The towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned so far from the fast moving fire stocked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Officials direct traffic as fire burns in nearby neighborhoods in Superior on Dec. 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County Ñ the towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills.
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Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Smoke rises from grass fires in Boulder County, as seen from 96th Street and West Dillon Road in Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
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Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
A police officer secures 96th Street and West Dillon Road in Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Fires burn in neighborhoods in Superior on Dec. 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County — the towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A Christmas wreath hangs on the side of a house where fire creeps towards the back on Dec. 30, 2021 in Superior. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County. The towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills. The fire has officially been named the Marshall Fire.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A structure begins to burn on Dec. 30, 2021 in Superior. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County. The towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills. The fire has officially been named the Marshall Fire.
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Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Smoke rises from grass fires in Boulder County, as seen from 96th St. and West Dillon in Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A person tries to put out fire around a house near Coal Creek Drive and Mohawk circle in Superior on December 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County. The towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned so far from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills.
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Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Police officers secure 96th Street and West Dillon Road in Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
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Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Police officer explains a road closure to a driver heading to Superior at the corner of 96th St. and West Dillon Rd. in Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
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Kathryn Scott, Special to The Denver Post
A line of cars is seen heading east on Baseline Road out of Lafayette as people try to evacuate as the Marshall fire burns on Dec. 30, 2021.
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Kathryn Scott, Special to The Denver Post
Employees and volunteers at the YMCA of Northern Colorado in Lafayette greet evacuees from the Marshall Fires as they help them carry their belongings and pets on Dec. 30, 2021.
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Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post
Left to right: Elizabeth Ybarra, Michelle Alvarez, Rita Ybarra, and Adriana Garcia watch the smoke plume and progress of the fires burning in Superior and Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. The family lives near by and was concerned if the fire turns south-east the grasslands in the foreground would be in trouble.
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RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
The Marshall Fire continues to burn out of control near Broomfield on Dec. 30, 2021.
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Kathryn Scott, Special to The Denver Post
Hayden Outlaw, 19, left, along with his younger brother Gavin, 17, kneeling, ask evacuee Pam Allen if they can get water or food for her and her cat “Allie”. The two brothers work summers at the YMCA of Northern Colorado and came to the center to volunteer and help with people like Pam who are fleeing the Marshall Fires burning nearby in Lafayette on Dec. 30, 2021.
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Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post
Fires fueled by heavy winds destroy homes in a subdivision near Level 3 Communications in Superior on Thursday night, Dec. 30, 2021.
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Kathryn Scott, Special to The Denver Post
A large trailer filled with horses joins other horse and large animal owners as they flee the Marshall Fires burning close by and fill the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont on Dec. 30, 2021.
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Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Christmas lights adorn a house as fires rage in the background in Louisville on Dec. 30, 2021. Fierce winds have whipped wildfires in Boulder County. The towns of Superior and Louisville have been evacuated. Multiple homes and businesses have burned so far from the fast moving fire stoked by fierce winds, with gusts topping 100 mph, along the foothills.
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RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
The Marshall Fire continues to burn out of control on Dec. 30, 2021. Winds reached speed of up to 100 miles per hour, driving the fire through the populated areas of Superior and Louisville.
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RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
A good samaritan tosses buckets of water on a home that was burnt in the Marshall Fire in Boulder County on Dec. 31, 2021 in Louisville .
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RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Christmas decorations are outside a home destroyed by the Marshall Fire on Dec. 31, 2021 in Louisville.
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RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
A home burns on South Boulder Road as the Marshall Fire sweeps through Boulder County, burning more than 1,000 homes, on Dec. 30, 2021 in Boulder.
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RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Fire crew work to put out flames at a home burnt in the Marshall Fire in Boulder County on Dec. 31, 2021 in Louisville.
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Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Houses smolder in the aftermath of the Marshall fire in Rock Creek above the Interlocken golf course Dec. 31, 2021. The Marshall fire, fueled by very high winds, destroyed over 500 houses.
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Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Members of the National Guard stage at the incident command center, FlatIron Crossing Mall in response to the nearby Marshall Fire on Dec. 31, 2021. The Marshall fire, fueled by very high winds, destroyed over 500 houses.
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Hart Van Denburg, CPR News, Pool
Aboard a Colorado National Guard helicopter, Gov. Jared Polis on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, gets a flyover tour of Boulder County neighborhoods destroyed by wildfires the previous day.
The Marshall fire’s intensity was fueled by powerful winds that pushed the wildfire across parched grass and brush. It burned more than 6,000 acres after it first ignited around 11 a.m. Dec. 30, 2021. The wind was so strong that flames did what was thought to be impossible — jump all six lanes of U.S. 36.
The wildfire fizzled the next day after a snowstorm moved into the area.
Two other fires were reported in Boulder County that morning — the Middle Fork fire and the Broadway fire. But it was the Marshall fire’s run through dense suburban housing that caused so much damage. The fire forced a hospital evacuation, and the number of people fleeing caused traffic jams on area roads.
Investigators said early on that the blaze began near the intersection of Marshall Road and Colorado 93. But theories about what caused it varied until Thursday’s announcement.
On the day of the fire, then-Sheriff Joe Pelle said it might have been caused by power lines blown down by the high winds. He reversed course the next day and said there was no evidence that downed power lines had sparked the wildfire. Instead, Xcel Energy told authorities its inspections found compromised communication lines that may have been misidentified as power lines.
In April 2022, however, two businesses and an anonymous couple filed a lawsuit that claims Xcel Energy’s power lines did cause the Marshall fire. The lawsuit accuses the power company of failing to maintain and monitor its lines. Xcel asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, but he ruled that it could move forward.
Days after the fire, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office fenced off property and executed a search warrant on land owned by the Twelve Tribes.
About 85% of all wildfires are caused by humans through burning debris, equipment malfunction, cigarettes, campfires and arson, according to the National Park Service.
The previous worst-ever wildfire in Boulder County — the Fourmile fire, which destroyed more than 160 homes in 2010 — also was started by smoldering embers that were left in a firepit. The person who started that blaze, a volunteer firefighter, was not criminally charged.
Johnson said Thursday that Boulder officials changed county ordinances after the Marshall fire to more specifically say that fires should be extinguished with both water and dirt, not just dirt. He emphasized that improperly extinguished embers can smolder for weeks.
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