Home occupants help snuff wildfire in Missouri Heights
Fire started from lightning as thunderstorm rolled through area
Scott Condon/The Aspen Times
Fast-acting homeowners got a wildfire under control soon after it was sparked by a lightning strike in Missouri Heights Thursday afternoon, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Issel said Thursday night.
The wildfire broke out at about 5:30 p.m. along Wind River Road, a sparsely developed area south of Fender Lane. A thunderstorm was rolling through the area at the time.
“The lightning up in Missouri Heights was just crazy,” Issel said.
Mallory Meyer, a resident of the house, said they saw the lightning strike and about a minute later saw flames 100 yards away.
“We were definitely worried about our home as it was so close,” Meyer said in an email. “We called 911 and soon after the flames were about 30 feet high and the wind was pushing it towards us and the neighbors. Luckily we had a member of the Miami Beach Fire Department staying with us who immediately ran over with the fire extinguisher. The remaining three of us ran back and forth with shovels and hoses to hook up to the neighbors’ house.”
Mallory Meyer/courtesy photo
Meyer said they were joined by neighbors, onlookers and firefighters. Issel said the civilians had the fire mostly under control by the time firefighters from Roaring Fork Fire Rescue and Carbondale arrived. The fire was contained to less than one acre, he said.
Three fire engines and 10 firefighters responded and helped contain the fire.
The fire was close to the Garfield-Eagle county line, about 4 miles from El Jebel.
(This story was updated Friday with information from a resident of the home closest to the fire.)
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