Winds Fuel Fire That Burns Homes In Castle Rock
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (CBS4)- Firefighters battled strong winds to put out fires at five homes in Castle Rock on Tuesday morning.
The burned homes are located on North Foxtail Drive and the street behind.
Two of the homes have partially collapsed and are destroyed. There is damage to three other homes. Wind speeds of about 30 to 40 miles an hour spread the flames.
About 10 a.m. Tuesday, Castle Rock Fire and Rescue received a call of a home on fire in the 4800 block of Foxtail Drive. The homes surrounding those on fire were evacuated.
Aurora police officer Jake Bunch looked at his house after getting a call from his wife who said, "Come home right away the house is on fire."
Their house was right next to the two which were destroyed.
"I don't know that it gets any closer than that," he said. "You can see the scorch marks on the side of the home. They got there just in time for me," Bunch said.
"When this fire came in we had consistent 30-40 mph winds in the area and we had a lot of our resources south for a fire on Tomah Road," said Castle Rock Fire Chief Art Morales.
Firefighters were busy on another fire in a field when the call came in. That three-alarm wild land fire was burning 10 miles south of Castle Rock on Tomah Road. That fire has been contained.
Bob Vodicka lives right across the street from where the two homes were destroyed.
"I said to myself, 'Please don't let it be my home.' I just bought it and I don't want to move again," he said.
What caused the fire is being investigated but investigators believe it may have started in the garage.
"The garage door was open, we believe that's what helped the fire move into the home," said Morales.
"I can't imagine what my neighbors are going through," Bunch said.
The homes are located in a neighborhood west of the outlet mall in Castle Rock.
"Our primary objective when we first got here was to get the people out of the way. A lot of heat, a lot of wind, a lot of moving embers, and so our primary effort was getting people evacuated. And then not only try to knock these fires down, but there were houses on the other side of the street that were also starting to burn that we had to protect," said Morales.
Firefighters battled strong winds in the area. There are no reports of any injuries.
Castle Rock remains under stage 1 fire restrictions.
