Durango Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Randy Black, left, and Fire Marshal Karola Hanks on Wednesday look at fire damage to the building at 1111 Camino del Rio that went up in flames Sunday night.
Durango Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Randy Black, left, and Fire Marshal Karola Hanks on Wednesday look at fire damage to the building at 1111 Camino del Rio that went up in flames Sunday night.Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The Durango Fire Protection District has turned a building on Camino del Rio that went up in flames Sunday night back to the property owner after finishing its investigation inside the structure.

Deputy Chief Randy Black said the investigation into the cause of the blaze, as well as who may be responsible, is ongoing, and it may take months before a final determination is found.

Just before midnight Sunday, the recently abandoned building at 1111 Camino del Rio, just south of Natural Grocers, was reported on fire. About a dozen businesses had moved out of the building by mid-May to make way for construction of a new 86-room hotel.

Authorities have said the fire was “likely not accidental” given indications at the scene. The building, which was built in the mid-1960s, was slated for demolition in early June, Black said.

Five agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as one representative with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, have assisted local crews with the investigation.