The Durango Herald
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A boulder the size of a Prius rolled down Animas City Mountain and crashed through a townhouse at Merced de las Animas on Tuesday. No one was injured, including the family pet, but the townhome was seriously damaged.
“We’ve been running around like crazy,” said Gail Bransteitter, the communications manager for Mercy Housing SW, which owns Merced de las Animas. “We’re working with the Red Cross to put up the family, and then we’ll find them a unit in one of our other properties in Durango.”
Sandra Peña and her two children, the residents whose home was destroyed, did have renter’s insurance, but there is still a lot to cope with over the next few days and weeks.
Cindi Shank, the executive director of the Southwest Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross, confirmed that the chapter is helping the family, and Bransteitter said the family had been given vouchers for three nights in a hotel.
Merced de las Animas, which is located in the 3700 block of West Second Avenue behind the Hampton Inn, is one of three affordable-housing properties Mercy Housing owns in Durango. The others are Merced de la Valle off Goeglein Gulch Road and Piñon Terrace on Primrose Drive near the East Animas Road (County Road 250)-Florida Road (County Road 240) intersection. Built in 1998, Merced de las Animas provides 50 one-, two- and three-bedroom units for family housing.
Bransteitter said Mercy Housing SW will determine which property is best for the Peña family. Mercy Housing has sent a staff member from Denver to help the family and the property managers.
“Obviously we’ll fix the townhome,” Bransteitter said, “They want to go back because it’s their home, and they’ll have housing until it’s ready for them to move back in.”
Repairs probably will take several months, she said. Because the boulder broke through the flooring joist and crashed into the townhome’s basement, there were concerns about the stability of adjoining townhouses.
“A structural engineer looked at the adjacent units and said they’re all safe to occupy,” Bransteitter said. “The city is still looking at the water main.”
The work will start with securing the property.
“Of course, we’ll make sure it’s all boarded up and safe,” Bransteitter said. “There are a lot of children there, and safety is our number one priority.”
