Boulder prosecutors are weighing arson charges in connection with a Nederland house fire that left two people with extensive burns amid concerns the blaze was sparked by a hash-oil explosion.
Fire investigators are expecting to obtain a search warrant this afternoon to begin probing Monday's evening's fire at 99 Pine Cliff Trail.
Two people were airlifted from Nederland to a hospital in Denver, though officials today did not know their current condition or the extent of their injuries.
Officials on scene said Monday that it was possible a hash-oil explosion caused the fire, which was reported at 4:52 p.m.
Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said there are allegations of hash-oil extraction, and that his office is investigating to see whether arson charges are warranted.
"We're going to take a few days and really investigate it," Garnett said. "We'll have to look at all the evidence to see if there was reckless behavior."
Steve Pischke, the fire investigator for the Boulder County Multi-Agency Fire Investigation Team, said because there are concerns of illegal activity inside the house, crews were waiting for a search warrant before entering the building.
"We haven't even been able to get into the house yet," Pischke said. "We decided it was the best course of action to wait for a warrant. That way, anything we might find would be admissible."
Pischke said he expects the warrant to be signed sometime later today.
Because investigators have only been able to survey the damage from the outside, Pischke said they can't say where or how the fire started just yet. They also have not been able to reach the renter of record for the home and don't know if that person was one of the two transported to the hospital.
"We're kind of stymied until we get that warrant," Pischke said.
If a hash-oil explosion is in fact responsible for starting the fire, it would be the second case in Boulder County this year. The Broker Inn saw the walls to one of its rooms blasted out in April after a suspected hash-oil explosion.
The suspect in that case, Jonathan Tarr, 34, is facing five charges, including arson.
Hash oil is made by running butane or another solvent through a tube filled with dried marijuana clippings, leaving behind an oily liquid that can be solidified by heating the mixture to evaporate the butane.
But the process is volatile and can result in explosions if the room being used is not properly ventilated, and is illegal without the proper permits.
Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, [email protected] or twitter.com/mitchellbyars.
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