Fire destroyed a home south of Durango on Sunday, displacing a La Plata County family and closing U.S. Highway 550 for more than five hours.
The fire was reported about 12:20 p.m. in the 6000 block of Highway 550, about 1½ miles south of Sunnyside Elementary School, said Randy Black, chief of Durango Fire Protection District.
A volunteer who lives in the area was first on scene, but by the time he arrived, the house was already fully engulfed in flames, Black said.
The home was described as a two-story, stick-built structure dating back to the 1800s that had been expanded multiple times.
The family returned from church services to find smoke inside the home, Black said. They called 911, but the fire spread too quickly to save it, he said.
Firefighters went into a defensive mode, attacking the fire from the outside. They were able to prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings and trees.
The house is considered a total loss.
“It’s absolutely just heartbreaking,” Black said. “Our hearts go out to the family.”
No family members or firefighters were injured, but two cats were missing as of Sunday evening, he said.
The family indicated they had a place to stay, at least for the time being.
A narrow driveway allowed only two fire engines to approach the house. To fight the blaze, DFPD set up two water tanks in the middle of the highway. Water was pumped to the engines in the driveway, while water tenders made loops back and forth from Durango to keep the tanks filled.
The fire department used 30,000 to 40,000 gallons of water and sprayed foam around the home to prevent the fire from spreading.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation as of Monday evening, Black said.
Fire crews responded with three engines, two ambulances, three water tenders and a command team. Assisting agencies included Upper Pine River Fire Protection District, Los Pinos Fire Protection District, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Black acknowledged the closure of Highway 550 was an inconvenience for motorists, but he said detour routes were in place and should have added only five to 20 minutes to commutes.
“While inconvenient, it wasn’t like there was no traffic flow,” Black said. “It was just on ... the county roads instead of the highway.”
shane@durangoherald.com
