The fire that tore through the Caribou Village Shopping Center in Nederland doesn’t qualify as a major disaster, but Gov. Jared Polis on Friday acknowledged the huge economic impact of the Thursday morning blaze that destroyed or damaged as many as a third of the town’s businesses.
Polis called the fire’s impact “enormous in terms of percentage of workforce and revenue,” estimating that as much as 30% of Nederland’s sales tax revenue was collected from the Caribou Village Shopping Center.
“There’s probably 60, 70, 80 people whose livelihoods were connected to the site … so we want to make sure they’re seamlessly able to access insurance. And we’re happy to connect them with the Office of Economic Development and International Trade as well as the SBA,” Polis said during a press conference in the parking lot of the plaza..
Nederland Mayor Billy Giblin in an interview Friday afternoon confirmed the tax revenue hit and said between a quarter and a third of the town’s businesses were lost or damaged.
“I want to thank the quick response of the fire department. It could have been much worse,” Polis said. “But that’s little consolation to the small businesses that lost everything they had.”
Polis noted the hard times ahead for businesses like Spinning Silica Art Collective, which offered ceramics, pottery and glass-blowing classes in its location on the second floor of the plaza, and the Mountain Man Outdoor Store, which sold everything from locally made cards to Carhartt clothing and whose owner, John Thompson, had good stories about growing up next door to the author David Sedaris’ family if you knew to ask him about it.
Not only are the physical businesses gone, they have lost all their inventory, Polis said. “For instance (Brightwood Music). You know, it’s not just a matter of whether they can open somewhere else. They lost all of their instruments.”
Other places, like Dam Liquor “can repurchase inventory and reopen,” he said, “but not tomorrow. And of course there’s additional requirements around where you can put liquor shops and how transferrable liquor licenses are.”
Polis said the state will try to make it as easy as possible for Nederland to revive its economy.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who was with Polis in the plaza parking lot, said businesses may not be eligible for Small Business Association loans contingent on a presidential disaster declaration, as the Nederland fire will likely not “comport with the conditions.” But there are multiple other SBA programs available that people can apply for, he said, and his office is in touch with some businesses already, “to assist on that front.”
Giblin said Neguse and Polis are doing what they can to help. “I was grateful they came to show support even if a dollar doesn’t come out of them. It helps. It helps in the moment. What they can do primarily is recommend paths for us to take. And then we have to take them.”
Homegrown aid and assistance
Meanwhile, Nederland is helping its own.
“Someone needs to get in touch with Carhartt and let them know that Mountain Man Outdoor Store, their top retailer in our mountain town, burned to the ground. I would love to see them show him some love,” wrote one resident on social media.
Another said he was heading to Costco and asked if any business owners or former employees from businesses in the fire needed anything. “Please let me know! Donation based supply pick up. Don’t worry about not having funds etc,” he wrote.
And Barbara Hardt, editor of the Mountain-Ear Newspaper and wife of Doug Armitage, who owns Brightwood Music, is already searching for a replacement for a cherished mandolin Armitage lost.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting an investigation.
And with the federal government shutdown, even those employees are donating their time, Neguse said.
Boulder County Public Information Officer Vinnie Montez said Friday during a news conference that the investigation continues into the origin or cause of the fire. No injuries were reported in the fire. He said 18 businesses were confirmed destroyed in the blaze, including the sheriff’s office substation. Two others may have been destroyed and three were damaged.