by Carol Dunn
CUCHARA- A late night fire on May 2 destroyed a detached garage owned by a Wisconsin man in the Cuchara Pass Ranch subdivision south of Cuchara. According to Jim Baker, Assistant Fire Chief of the Stonewall Fire Department, the garage contained an ATV and other equipment and was heated by a propane heater. The fire department began an investigation of the blaze, focusing on the propane line where it entered the garage, but turned over the investigation to the owner’s insurance company. Baker said the nearest occupied dwelling is about five miles away by road, so the fire went unnoticed until the caretaker of the property followed up a call from the owner about an alarm. Lloyd Holliman, Deputy Fire Chief, told the Journal it snowed all weekend in the area and the snow likely prevented the fire from spreading to the surrounding forest.
