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Heather Gardens rubble investigation likely to take weeks or months

Patience and time. That's what it's going to take for those wondering just what led to the explosion at Heather Gardens - and the death of a resident there - earlier this month.

It will be "weeks or months" before Aurora Fire Rescue finishes investigating the site of the explosion at Heather Gardens in Aurora. That explosion destroyed a section of townhouses in the Country Place Four section of the Aurora retirement community on Nov. 16. Resident Carol Ross was killed in the explosion.

According to Aurora Fire spokeswoman Sherri-Jo Stowell, fire investigators still control the scene and will be there for quite some time.

"We have to be meticulous in our investigation to uncover causal factors and examine the physical evidence. This process could take weeks or months, but it will help us develop a concise timeline and will aim to bring closure to those who lost so much," Stowell said.

Since the explosion, Heather Gardens hired a public relations representative.

"Investigations by the PUC, Xcel, Xfinity and the Aurora Fire Department are still ongoing," spokesperson Jane Dvorak wrote in an email. "When those investigations are complete, the property will be turned over to start insurance investigations in the following weeks."

So how long with the rubble remain? Let's take a look at nearby explosions that have happened this year in the metro area for context.

On Aug. 14, an explosion destroyed a multiplex near 4th Avenue and Santa Fe Drive in Denver. Denver Fire investigators were finished at the site after just one day, but the rubble looks the same as it did when fire investigators turned the property back to the property owner.

Denver Fire spokesman Capt. Greg Pixley said it could be another month or more before investigators put out information about their conclusions.

Next tried to find the property owner on Tuesday, but when we went to what was listed as his business address, we ended up at a home in south Denver. A person who answered the door said they were visiting and would pass along our name and number. We could not find a working phone number for the owner.

There are "Danger - Keep Out" signs on the fence around the Santa Fe rubble. The signs were posted by the city's building inspector, through Denver's Office of Community Planning and Development.

A spokeswoman for that department said that the property owner has not applied for any permits to repair or rebuild, and until there are hired contractors, the fence is there to make sure the site stays secure and safe to the public.

We wanted to know if the city can speed up that process.

"If we see any new hazards or code violations, we would definitely take action, but significant repairs like this take time," said the spokesperson.

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