BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has rescinded boil water advisories put in place for Superior and Louisville after the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
Residents of the two towns were asked last week to use bottled water or to boil any water being used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation.
CDPHE said the City of Louisville changed its water distribution operations so that more water would be available to fight the fire, which meant switching to untreated water.
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In Superior, CDPHE said, the firefighting effort caused a significant water pressure loss that could let disease-causing organisms into the water distribution system. In addition, the health department said the town was working to find water leaks caused by the destruction and repair them.
In both cases, CDPHE said it would work with the towns to test the water to make sure it was safe to drink again.
The advisory for the Sans Souci community has also been lifted, according to CDPHE.
The Boulder Office of Disaster Management said Thursday that the 6,026-acre Marshall Fire destroyed 1,084 homes. 550 were in Louisville, 378 in Superior and 156 in unincorporated Boulder County. Another 149 homes were damaged.
The total cost of the damage to homes is more than $513 million, according to the Boulder County Assessor.
Seven commercial structures were destroyed and 30 damaged, according to the county. Assessors are still working to determine the value of the damage to those buildings.
Three people were reported missing after the fire that started Dec. 30. One of them was found alive, and investigators found human remains from one of the other two on Wednesday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said it could take weeks or months to determine how it started.
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