Five fire agencies assisted in knocking down a fully engulfed, single-wide trailer on a rural property on the 5000 block of County Road 24 at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon near the Cortez Municipal Airport.
Cortez Fire Protection District, Lewis-Arriola Fire Protection District, Mancos Fire and Rescue, Delores Fire and Rescue, and Ute Mountain Fire and Rescue all sent engines or tender trucks to help control the fire. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office provided assistance and interviewed witnesses.
Cortez Fire Protection District Lt. Staton Jeter said there is limited access to fire hydrants in the area, so the additional tender trucks from local agencies with mutual aid agreements were called in to relay water through the main Cortez fire engine.
“We just use their water,” Jeter said.
He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the sheriff’s office believes there were people squatting in the mobile home. It was vacant when authorities arrived and did not appear to be a permanent residence.
He said it looked like the fire originated in the interior of the trailer, possibly in the living room. He said it was halfway engulfed when the Cortez engine arrived, but mobile homes go up quickly.
“It was almost a complete loss,” Jeter said. “Nothing is salvageable in it.”
Jennifer Peterson, a neighbor, said she standing on was the backside of her property when she saw flames and smoke coming from the trailer.
“I saw it was on fire, but I thought maybe he was doing a controlled burn,” Peterson said, referring to the homeowner.
She said she called the homeowners and found out that they are in Moab. Peterson said no one lives in the trailer that caught fire and the homeowners were not sure how it could have ignited.
There are several buildings on the property, including a main house and several accessory structures like trailers and sheds.
sdolan@the-journal.com