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UPDATED: Snow-covered road prevents fire crews from getting to Kremmling house fire

Flames from a structure fire on Grand County Road 2416 illuminate the night sky north of Kremmling Christmas night.
Courtesy photo / Grand County Sheriff’s Office |

(Updated at 4 p.m. Tuesday to include additional information from Kremmling Fire.)

A late Christmas fire in the Big Horn Park area north of Kremmling ended in the total loss of a home as local first responders battled frigid winter weather conditions and impassable, snow-covered roads on County Road 2416.

First responders were paged just after 8 p.m. Monday night for a structure fire on County Road 2416, deep within the Big Horn Park area near Monument Creek. Firefighter Brady Mathis, spokesperson for the Kremmling Fire Protection District, where the fire was located, said Tuesday that early indications pointed officials to a wood-burning stove inside the roughly 2,000-square-foot cabin as the cause of the fire.

High winds and heavy snow over the holiday weekend greatly impacted roads in the area and, shortly after the initial call for response, additional calls were made for assistance for a Grand County Road and Bridge plow so fire crews could reach the structure. Mathis said deep drifting snow made it impossible for firefighters to get fire trucks and water tenders to the scene and first responders battled the blaze with hand tools and portable fire extinguishers hauled on snowmobiles and on foot through the wind-blown snow.

It was initially reported in the dispatch logs that subjects inside the home had evacuated. Officials from Kremmling Fire later confirmed reports that all occupants of the home were safely evacuated though did not have specific figures on the number of occupants at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported.

The home was fully engulfed in flames by 8:39 p.m., according to logs from dispatch. By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, and were able to make a formal assessment of the damage to the home, the structure was declared a total loss. At that time the home’s garage was beginning to ignite and first responders shifted their focus to protecting that structure.

After an additional 90 minutes spent battling the fire, first responders reported to dispatch that the home’s garage had been saved. According to call logs from the evening first responders were leaving the field around midnight. Mathis noted the burn scar from the house fire was still smoldering as they left the area.

“Lots of snow and wind made for a challenging night for our responder, but when you call we always respond,” read a statement by Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin posted on the Grand County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. “Thanks to Grand County Road and Bridge and some citizens who stepped up to help plow the route.”

Multiple local agencies responded to the structure fire including Kremmling Fire, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Hot Sulphur Springs/Parshall Fire, Grand County EMS and Grand County Road and Bridge.


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