Explosion, fire destroy cabin near Brighton

A cabin near Brighton Ski Resort and next door to the Brighton fire station was destroyed in a two-alarm fire Tuesday afternoon.

Several people near the loop at the entrance of the Brighton parking lot reported hearing a small explosion about 1:45 p.m. One of them was a volunteer firefighter at the Unified Fire Authority's Brighton station. He was the first to hear the explosion and saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the structure, said UFA Capt. Clint Smith.

The volunteer firefighter called UFA for help and then dug out hydrants from the snow until the firefighters arrived. Because of how far away the fire was, it took UFA crews 15 minutes to get there and about 20 minutes before they began putting water on it, Smith said.

After determining that the approximately 1,800-square-foot cabin was vacant, crews fought the fire in a defensive mode, meaning they put water on it mostly to prevent it from spreading to other structures.

A lack of hydrants and water hampered firefighting efforts somewhat, Smith said. Crews remained at the scene well into the evening in order to put out hot spots.

The cabin is a complete loss, with the cost of the damage estimated at more than $1 million.

Most of the cabins in the area are propane fed, Smith said, and investigators believe the explosion may have been caused by a propane leak or other type of malfunction with the propane system in the cabin.

The spacious cabin was privately owned by someone from out of state, but it is managed and rented out to people by a local company, Smith said.

— Pat Reavy and Ethan Thomas