Two homes destroyed

A fire that started small in some brush Monday afternoon on Rim View Drive quickly engulfed houses, destroying two and damaging two others.

Adolf and Sue Stuhmer were home with their adult son Rob when the family heard the crackle of flames and saw fire come closer to the far side of a shed on their property.

Adolf and Rob described trying to put out the fast- expanding fire with a garden hose and two half-full fire extinguishers before "the whole field just went up and 'foom,'" said Rob, who fell, scorched his face and sustained leg injuries in the process.

The shed had been full of paint thinner and similar flammable supplies because the family was in the middle of a renovation, Rob said.

New furniture and plans for a hardwood floor for a home they lived in for six years have all disappeared, he said.

Within half an hour, the roof of the house caught fire and also exploded, Rob said, thinking it did so quickly because of the extra vents he had built to circulate air.

"I put all these vents in the attic to keep it cool, not thinking there would ever be a fire," he said.

Toquerville Emergency Services Manager Dave Pope saw the smoke from the main road and raced up the hill where the homes sat looking off a steep cliff. Pope said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it appeared to be accidental, spreading through brush and grass because of heavy winds.

"We grabbed hoses and tried to keep the fire out of the homes, and I just tried to evacuate people, though some didn't want to leave," Pope said.

Crews from Washington City, Colorado City, the Hurricane Valley Fire District, the state and Bureau of Land Management all responded.

Adolf said he tried to stay and help move the fire department hoses once crews arrived, but officials moved the family into some shade, its vehicles trapped among a tangle of hose, and the three watched the fire until the American Red Cross arrived.

After containing the fire and spraying down the affected homes in case they flared up again, Pope said the Stuhmer home and a vacant residence that is for sale were a complete loss, as was a freestanding garage at a third home. A fourth home sustained smoke damage.