Woodshop blaze forces 15 families to evacuate their homes
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MANCOS, Colo. – Nine fire departments and nearly 50 firefighters responded to a large fire Monday at Western Excelsior’s wood product plant in Mancos, Colorado. Heavy smoke forced the evacuation of 15 nearby families from their homes.

Fire officials said the company suffered a total loss.

The facility was quickly evacuated and no injuries were reported, according to the Durango Herald.

A mobile home park, located just 80 yards from the manufacturing facility, had to be evacuated due to the fire’s heavy smoke.

“Smoke is the biggest concern, especially for the residents right across the road with the northerly north-east winds that we’ve got,” Montezuma County Emergency Manager Paul Hollar told the Herald.

Western Excelsior processes wood to create erosion-control products such as shaved aspen, also known as excelsior. The company has 110 employees and is the town’s largest private employer.

See the blaze on video here.

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Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].