What’s left of the Caribou Village shopping center is a hard image for Nederland residents to see. Twisted metal, burning insulation and charred wood are everywhere. A central hub of the Colorado community in the high foothills destroyed.
Alex Howes
“This is our town,” said longtime Nederland resident Deanna Grabow. “This is our laundromat, our liquor store, our fitness, our doctor, our chiropractor, our places to go to hang out.”
She and her niece, Debbie, woke up to text messages from friends around 7 a.m. on Thursday. By the time they arrived to the shopping center, their favorite brewery, the place that they were sitting in the night before, was gone.
“We got up, got dressed and came down here and it’s just devastation,” she said.
Across the street, residents were woken up in the early hours of Thursday morning and asked to evacuate out of an abundance of caution. Riley McAllister and Rebecca Bean were two such residents affected.
“We grabbed the animals, grabbed whatever was meant to us, got to a safe distance and waited for the Nederland fire department,” he said.
CBS 
So many town staples were in the center. A laundromat, multiple restaurants, a beloved music store and another that taught children about animals. The town’s sole supermarket was just next door but managed to survive. Other places weren’t so lucky.
“Our local doctor’s office was impacted unfortunately,” Bean explained. “It was at the end of the center so … that sucks.”
It’s a loss that will be felt in the community for years and a rebuild will take a long time. Many business owners that spoke to CBS Colorado were optimistic that they would be covered by their insurance but overwhelmed at the complete overhaul that will be required moving forward. But Nederland’s historic carousel stood just feet from the burning Laundry Room and didn’t suffer any damage. According to the Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson, that’s because of the hard work of fire crews.
“There’s a lot of loss here,” said McAllister. “Thankfully there’s no loss of life that I know about. Our community will get together to rebuild. I know it will.”
“When crap hits the fan, we all come together as one and we’ll do that again,” Grabow added.
