State and local fire investigators have not been able to determine the cause of a fire that damaged two homes last week in the Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango because of extensive structural damage.
The fire was reported at 2:06 p.m. April 20 in a cluster of four housing units at 152 Red Canyon Trail. The fire broke out inside one of the houses, then spread to a neighboring house and into bordering vegetation.
Durango Fire Protection District said investigators from both the department and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control began assessing the scene as soon as the blaze was extinguished.
The fire was determined to be accidental, but just what sparked it could not be definitively proven.
“The area of origin was determined to be interior of Unit O, with fire extending to Unit P via radiant heat to the exterior of the garage,” according to a news release from Durango fire. “The cause could not be determined due to the extent of damage to the structure of origin.”
DFPD Chief Randy Black said investigators determined where and when the fire originated, as well as how it moved from structure to structure. But because of the extent of damage to the first house, there was not enough evidence to point to a specific cause.
“When something significantly burned, we take the information that we’ve got,” Black said. “We look at burn patterns, look at char depths, look at all the stuff that’s available and come up with a conclusion. It ends up being undetermined if (the cause is) something that we can’t prove in court.”
Black said private investigators were on the scene Thursday, and that their findings may provide new details at a later date.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
