Firefighters respond to two houses that caught fire Monday afternoon in the Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)
EDGEMONT – Firefighters responded Monday to a multi-structure fire in the Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango.
The fire was reported at 2:06 p.m. in a cluster of houses on Red Canyon Trail and Copper Rim Trail. The fire broke out in one structure, then spread to a neighboring house and into vegetation alongside both.
“Crews arrived to find one house fully involved and a second adjacent residence on fire,” Durango Fire Protection District Chief Randy Black said in a Monday news release.
Several DFPD wildland and structure fire crews responded to the blaze, and were quickly able to contain the fire before it moved into the surrounding forest land. They also were able to prevent it from spreading to additional houses.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to handle crowd and traffic control. Atmos Energy and La Plata Electric Association also responded.
Fire billows from a roof in Edgemont Highlands subdivision on Monday afternoon. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)
A first responder said it looked like “one house possibly exploded.”
Black said the cause of the fire remained under investigation as of Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
Greg Cathcarht, a resident whose home closely neighbors the two that caught fire, said he “heard an explosion and a scream” when the fire started.
“I rushed to the front door and it already just engulfed one of the houses,” Cathcarht said.
Durango Fire Protection District crews respond to a house fire that spread to another structure shortly after 2 p.m. Monday in the Edgemont Highlands area. (Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District)
Cathcarht rescued a neighbor’s two dogs from her house when the fire broke out. The neighbor was gone and her house was locked, so he had to throw a potted plant through her back window to retrieve the two dogs from inside the home.
No injuries were reported, and all the effected residents were accounted for.
Black said had the fire occurred in the summertime, when wildfire danger is typically higher, the fire would have been more difficult to contain.
“Crews were able to keep it from going anywhere,” Black said. “We’ve got two wildland trucks that are here. This in June or July could have been pretty different.”
Firefighters respond to two houses that caught fire Monday afternoon in the Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)Smoke envelopes several houses in the Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango after two houses caught fire Monday afternoon. Here, wildland firefighters with Durango Fire Protection District, were at the ready to ensure the blaze did not spread into surrounding forest. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)Firefighters respond to two houses that caught fire Monday afternoon in the Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)Smoke, flames and water come off the two houses that caught fire in Edgemont Highlands on Monday afternoon. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)Wildland fire crews at a house fire that broke out in Monday in Edgemont Highlands subdivision northeast of Durango. They were there to ensure the fire did not spread into surrounding forest. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)Firefighters shoot water into one of the two houses that caught fire in Edgemont Highlands on Monday afternoon, northeast of Durango. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)
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Durango Fire Protection District crews respond to a house fire that spread to another structure shortly after 2 p.m. Monday in the Edgemont Highlands area, northeast of Durango. (Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District)Durango Fire Protection District crews respond to a house fire that spread to another living structure shortly after 2 p.m. Monday in the Edgemont Highlands area northeast of Durango. (Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District)Shingles are blasted off the roof of one of two houses that caught fire in Edgemont Highlands subdivision Monday afternoon. (Scout Edmondson/Durango Herald)
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