Cause of Vallecito Marina fire remains undetermined – The Durango Herald

Marina's phones and electricity were working again by 11 a.m. Monday.

The cause of a recent fire at the Vallecito Marina office building remains undetermined.

Upper Pine River Fire Protection Deputy Chief Greg French said the fire remains under investigation, but he would not rule out lightning as a cause, as with several other fires that broke out Sunday in the Vallecito area.

“We are trying to view video footage of the incident… but it happened during the storm,” he said.

French said Vallectio Marina was without power Sunday night and Monday morning, so firefighters loaned Vallecito Marina a power generator so it could resume operations.

A representative of Vallectio Marina said The Durango Herald The facility's phones and electricity were back up and running by 11 a.m. Monday, but it was working to restore its Wi-Fi and credit card payment system before the July 4 weekend.

When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the building's eaves, which is the part of the roof that overhangs the exterior walls, French said.

French said the fire started inside the structure of the building in the marina's boat dock area, but was contained to that structure. Firefighters were called to the scene shortly before 8:15 p.m. and had it extinguished within 10 minutes.

“We had multiple units in the area responding to calls at that time,” he said.

Between 6pm and 10pm on Sunday, firefighters received 10 calls, including at least three lightning-related fires and the marina fire.

Life jackets inside the marina building structure were damaged by the fire, and the walls and ceiling were damaged, French said.

“I would say probably 40 percent of the interior of the structure has suffered heat or smoke damage,” he said.

He also said that while the structure would require some reconstruction, there was no apparent permanent damage.

“The structural integrity was not compromised,” he said.

French said the building looked like a “normal operating office” and did not have any cluttered spaces that could have contributed to the fire.

The fire department is also accepting donations of life jackets for the Vallecito Marina. French said donations can be dropped off at the fire department headquarters, 515 Sower Drive in Bayfield, or at the marina, which is at 14772 County Road 501 in Vallecito.

“We’re just trying to help them out,” French said. “It’s a busy time of year for them. The Fourth of July weekend is probably one of the worst times of their operating season because there could be a fire and damage.”

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