Destructive blaze in Silverthorne area underlines importance of nearby fire house, residents say

Residents in the Silverthorne area say the response to a house fire there over the weekend is underlying the importance of having a nearby fire house.

Holiday lights and a blanket of snow adorn each home along the Eagle's Nest neighborhood, expect for the home that's a charred pile of ash. Summit Fire and EMS were able to contain the fire Saturday morning and stop it from spreading to other homes, although there are some slight singed spots on a neighbor's house.  

"We are in Colorado in the mountains. It's dry, it doesn't matter if we got snow, it's still dry," Nancy Warner, who lives nearby, said. On Sunday she was walking her dog nearby the home that is mostly burnt timber and a lone brick chimney.

"Fire is a real danger. We need our fire house," Warner said.

CBS Colorado has been monitoring the efforts of neighbors in the area to get a fire house put closer to their homes. The current closest fire station is in Dillon.

Warner said this is just another reminder of how important it is that they have the closer station, although she's very proud of what firefighters were able to accomplish regardless of their starting point.

"It's the best we can do without a fire house. We are really lucky they got here so fast," Warner said. 

The home that burned was in the process of being built, and no one was hurt in the fire. Firefighters did battle slippery icy conditions and single digit temperatures, even having some of the water they were using freeze up their helmets.