Between 12 and 14 storage units affected by Boulder fire Monday morning

A total of 102 storage units were reportedly damaged in a fire that broke out early Monday morning.

According to Boulder police spokeswoman Dionne Waugh, at 1:09 a.m., crews were called to a warehouse in the 5800 block of Arapahoe Avenue for a second-alarm structure fire. Waugh wrote that 14 units were damaged by the fire and another 88 units were damaged by smoke and fire suppression.

Waugh wrote in an email that the cause was still under investigation.

According to posts on X by Boulder Fire-Rescue, Arapahoe Avenue between 55th Street and Cherryvale Road was closed due to the fire from about 2 a.m. to about 6:48 a.m. Monday. There were no injuries as a result of the fire, authorities said.

According to Waugh, all of the homes damaged by the fire contained belongings, including one that was “filled to the brim.” Of the 88 homes damaged, about 20 were empty, the rest contained household items and three homes contained cars, according to Waugh.

Waugh wrote that the storage company is working to notify people who owned the units that were damaged.

Boulder firefighters reported 45 people were called to the scene. As of 5:33 a.m., one unit was still on fire, according to a post on X.

Shortly before 7 a.m., the department announced that crews could be expected at the scene for a few more hours while special equipment is made available to help fully extinguish the blaze. Waugh said the special equipment includes a remote-controlled mini bulldozer to help crews remove objects from the units, a small bulldozer used to push objects out of the units, an excavator and a skid steer loader.

“A lot of storage units were on fire, so we used the bulldozer to go through and extinguish the fire on the other side as part of the restoration. We are grateful to our colleagues in the city’s transportation and utilities departments who brought this special equipment to the scene for us to use,” Waugh wrote.

Assisting forces included Boulder Fire-Rescue firefighters, battalion chiefs from Louisville and Lafayette fire departments and a rescue vehicle from Mountain View Fire Department. While crews responded to the fire, Boulder Rural and Mountain View Fire Rescue covered calls in the city.

Originally published: August 26, 2024 at 8:18 a.m.