Agencies Reach Full Containment of Dangerous Wildfire
Trevor Phipps and Rick Langenberg
Photos By Ron Demarkles
In less than 72 hours, fire crews from across the state and region were able to achieve 80 percent containment. This allowed residents to return to their homes. By November 2, authorities had announced that the fire was 100 percent contained.
According to officials, the blaze started at a home in the neighborhood and Teller County sheriff officials reported that the agency was “aggressively pursuing” the person allegedly responsible for the human-caused fire. Since the fire started, local news agencies have determined that the blaze started at 13 Beaver Lake Circle.
Area news agencies have determined that the home was under foreclosure proceedings for weeks before the blaze started. In fact, according to court documents, Teller County District Court Judge William Moller on Oct. 23 ruled against the owner of the home, forcing the sale of the property to move forward. In essence, the home owner did not meet an earlier deadline, in response to a motion filed by Select Portfolio Servicing, ordering the authorization of the sale of the home. This set the wheels in motion for the house to be sold at auction on November 13. This ruling occurred shortly before the fire was started.
However, sheriff’s deputies are still investigating the exact cause of the blaze. As of TMJ’s press time, officials did not state whether the fire was ignited on purpose, or it was started accidentally. No more information about the agency’s inquiry has been released.
Photos of the fire have commanded much attention in the last two weeks and have been widely circulated by evacuation victims. According to several television reports, the home owner was not seen much in the area in the last year, based on interviews with neighbors.
Sheriff officials have lauded the response effort that occurred, as no other structures were lost in the blaze.
