A family of four lost their belongings and were displaced from their home Wednesday when it was gutted by fire.
Their home, located in an area behind the popular Phil’s World mountain bike trail system, was gutted and everything inside was destroyed, according to Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde, of the Cortez Fire Protection District.
The fire was reported by a neighbor at 4:18 p.m. on Wednesday. The neighbor saw flames inside the trailer home and smoke coming out of the windows.
Fire engines arrived on scene at 4:31 p.m.
“The inside was fully engulfed in flame,” Vandevoorde said.“The whole inside was gutted, there was nothing left, it was pretty hot in there.”
The two adults and two children were renting the home, which is down a bumpy road behind the mountain bike trail system.
Nobody was home at the time of the fire.
“The family got there after the fire was out,” Vandevoorde said.
The Red Cross assisted the family and placed them in a hotel Wednesday night.
Vandevoorde said it looks like the fire started near the hot water heater and that investigators believe that the hot water heater may have caused the fire.
Nine firefighters responded to the fire with one engine and two water tenders. Firefighters used a foam and about 500 gallons of water to put the fire out, firefighters left the scene at 6:20 p.m.
“It was a small building, and they knocked (the fire) down pretty quickly,” Vandevoorde said. “Its a shame this happened, but the guys did a great job and kept the fire contained to the structure, and it didn’t spread.”
