Barbara Lawlor

Coal Creek Canyon

Although it wasn’t lightning that caused the fire that destroyed a Coal Creek Canyon home on Monday afternoon, July 16, it was the rain from that same storm that helped keep the fire from spreading into the forest. The cabin on Leon Road was gutted, a total loss.

About half an hour before neighbors heard the pops and saw the flames from the fully engulfed building, a drencher had come through the area, dropping about a half an inch of moisture in about an hour’s time. That and quick response by Coal Creek Canyon and Timberline Fire Protection districts kept the blaze contained to the building.

A neighbor said that the Saws and Slaws group had been on the property the day before, getting rid of the beetle kill on the land. The house was owned and lived in by a disabled veteran who suffered burns to his hands and arms and smoke inhalation. He was transported to the hospital by American Medical Response ambulance.

Officials at the scene of the fire say they do not yet know the cause of the fire, but they do know it wasn’t lightning.