Fire destroys Juniper Butte home near Culver
A busy summer continued Monday afternoon for Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 crews as a house was heavily damaged by a fire near Culver while an engine crew was dispatched in mutual aid to help Crook County firefighters on the Grizzly Fire.
Fire Chief Brian Huff said firefighters responded around 4 p.m. to a reported house fire in the 5300 block of Southwest Platiro Court on Juniper Butte, southwest of Culver.
The fire apparently started on the home’s exterior deck and spread up an outside wall to the attic, Huff said.
“As we arrived, the fire had already spread throughout the attic and approximately 50 percent of the ceiling/roof had collapsed into the interior of the home,” Huff told NewsChannel 21.
“We made an aggressive knockdown of the fire, but I consider the home a total loss,” the fire chief said, adding that “the owners were on vacation and their pets are all safe.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
As they wrapped up that house fire, firefighters responded to another blaze in the north end of the fire district, which Huff said was determined to be self-heating of organic materials. Huff said that fire was knocked down by Jefferson County Undersheriff Marc Heckathorn, and the fire district had a brush truck and duty officer vehicle finish mopping up hot spots.
“The fire district would like to remind everyone to be extremely careful with cigarettes around combustibles and all forms of open flame, including fireworks this summer,” Huff said, noting that the “fire district has already responded to 19 fires this summer.”
