Colorado's Boulder County Sheriff’s Office announced at a Sunday conference that one of the three individuals who had initially been declared missing has been found, with officials still on the search for the two others. No deaths have been reported.
The two missing individuals are feared to be dead, as the unnamed missing persons lived in homes that were destroyed. Search dogs, trained in finding human remains, are searching the burned buildings.
The fire - the most destructive in the state’s history - was aided by a combination of environmental factors, including a drought, unseasonably warm weather, and record-high winds. High sustained winds, with 110-mph gusts were recorded, creating a perfect environment for the fire to spread; however, what initially caused the fire remains unknown.
While it was first believed that the fire started due to downed power lines caused by the extreme wind, Xcel Energy denied the claim, asserting that it did not find any downed power lines in the ignition area. The power company suggested also that downed communication lines were mistakenly identified as power lines.
Police have not ruled out arson or negligence for the cause of the fire, and have said they will hold any responsible parties accountable. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on a property in connection to the fire on Saturday, but no charges were filed.
A video of a burning shed off of Colorado Highway 93 has gotten the attention of the authorities as a possible source of the fire.
The shed is on the property of Twelve Tribes, a Christian religious sect with a small community in Boulder, Colorado, and additional communities reportedly spread around the globe.