An 81-year-old man tragically lost his life in Cochise County, Arizona, after sustaining severe burns and smoke inhalation injuries from a fire that erupted on his property, as released by the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. Neil Edward Hesse, along with his son aged 52, were involved in an accident on their Bowers Road residence Monday evening, leading to a brush fire when they were operating a grinder, sparks from which ignited the surroundings.

The sheriff's deputies, responding to the scene on Monday around 6 p.m., were greeted by the sight of flames and the sound of multiple explosions, with propane tanks on the property identified as the source of the blasts, as detailed by the FOX 10 Phoenix. Despite their earnest attempts to control the blaze, both Hesse and his son incurred critical injuries and were in necessity of urgent medical attention, which led to their transfer to Tucson hospitals for care—and it was yesterday, just before noon, the sheriff's office was informed that Hesse had succumbed to his injuries.

While the Bowers Fire, currently under investigation and suspected to be human-caused, was effectively halted at 28 acres by firefighting crews, the destruction wielded its most grievous toll upon the Hesse family. The property located at the intersection of Sanders and Bowers roads, within the Whetstone area, became the focal point of this devastating incident, and all evacuations ordered in response to the fire have been retracted, as reported by AZFamily.

The aftermath still lingers, smoke from the Bowers Fire visible as it consumes natural foliage along the Babocomari River bed; although active suppression efforts continue by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management they've managed to stop the blaze's forward progress, allowing residents to begin a tentative return to normalcy.