A garage fire that started around 10 this morning at a Summit Lake subdivision home has temporarily displaced a Mancos family, and law enforcement crews are working to pinpoint the exact cause.
Dolores and Mancos Fire Department crews responded to the fire on Road P.3 within 10 minutes of the call, homeowner Jim Barry said. Barry, a musician, was working in his home studio with friend Hezekiah Stinson when the fire broke out.
Barry and Stinson worked with neighbors to safely evacuate his three dogs, fourindoor cats and two horses, as flames consumed the attached garage. Barry's wife and children weren't home at the time of the fire.
Though crews were quick to respond to the scene, the garage was beyond salvaging by the time they arrived.
"The garage was on the ground when we got here," said Mancos firefighter Corey Jabour.
Dolores firefighter Frank Lopes said crews contained the fire and stopped it from spreading to the rest of the house. Aside from the garage, a hallway and a bedroom were badly damaged.
Lt. Adam Eastman of the Montezuma County Sheriff's detective division said the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Barry said that it might have started from a propane heater in the garage.
Neighbor Jody Palsey said she heard a "loud boom" about the time the fire started.
"I thought something blew off my porch, I went out to check, and my dog started crying," Palsey said, describing the neighborhood as close-knit. "We saw flames and smoke shortly after."
