A Douglas County home near Parker went up in flames Tuesday night after lightning struck its roof during a passing storm, sending three residents and their dog fleeing to safety while crews scrambled to find water in a neighborhood with no fire hydrants nearby. One cat was later rescued, but a second remained missing as of Wednesday morning.
South Metro Fire Rescue crews responded to the area of Arrowshaft Trail and Travois Trail just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to CBS Colorado. The homeowners called 911 after reporting that lightning had struck their home, the roof was on fire, and smoke was filling the house. When firefighters arrived, they found flames already coming from the roof, which had partially collapsed by the time crews got water on it, as KDVR reported.
All three people inside made it out safely with their dog. South Metro Fire crews later rescued one of the family's two cats from the scene, though the second cat had not been located as of Wednesday morning. No firefighters or residents were hurt in the fire.
No Hydrants Meant a Water-Hauling Operation
The rural stretch of Douglas County where the home sits has no fire hydrants, and the nearest one was almost two miles away, according to the station's report. That distance forced fire crews to set up what's known as a rural water supply operation, using temporary tanks to keep a steady stream of water flowing to the fire scene instead of relying on a hydrant line.
Water tenders from South Metro Fire Rescue, Aurora Fire Rescue, Buckley Space Force Base, and the Franktown Fire Protection District all pitched in, shuttling water back and forth to keep the tanks filled while crews worked the blaze. South Metro Fire Rescue said the cause of the fire was the lightning strike to the roof.
A Recurring Hazard in the Parker Area
Lightning-sparked house fires aren't new to this corner of Douglas County. Data cited by the Castle Pines Connection found that lightning caused 38 fires within South Metro Fire Rescue's jurisdiction since 2011, with half of those igniting buildings and the other 19 sparking wildfires. The Parker area alone accounted for 44 percent of the district's lightning-ignited fires, far outpacing every other area the outlet tracked.
The same report noted that lightning struck three people within the district over that stretch — two who were touching metal when a bolt hit a building, and one who was struck while walking outside — and that none of them was seriously hurt. Tuesday's fire adds another entry to a district that has spent over a decade grappling with the risks lightning poses to homes scattered across its more rural reaches.
