‘It was just debris, just chaos’: Two killed in rural Pueblo County explosion, fire
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Pueblo County Coroner's Office has confirmed that two people died after an explosion in a rural area of the county on Thursday afternoon.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) said multiple agencies responded to a structure explosion that caused a fire in eastern Pueblo County.
The explosion happened near 57th Lane and Cherry Road, south of Boone, Colorado. The PCSO says that the individuals located deceased were a man and a woman, though their identities have not yet been publicly released.
According to preliminary information, the sheriff's office believes the explosion was accidental.
Law enforcement says when responders arrived, the structure was completely in flames, but the fire got under control later that evening.
The sheriff's office says that investigators from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and PCSO are investigating.
Jared Watkins and his family live about a half mile south of the explosion site. He tells KRDO13 that he and his wife were sitting watching TV when they heard a loud noise, and their house shook.
Watkins says his first reaction was that a plane crashed nearby, because they live close to the airport. Only when they went outside did they see the smoke coming from what was left of the home.
Tyler Ross and his family live about a quarter mile away from the home. He tells KRDO13 that he had just returned home after picking his kids up from school.
"Two minutes later, we heard an explosion from inside. It sounded like a door got slammed shut, went outside, and saw a giant ball of smoke come up, and kids were freaking out," Ross said, recounting the moment.
Ross was very likely the first person to arrive on the scene.
"We drove down, and it was just debris, just chaos, fire. You know, I wanted to go in and see if everyone was okay. But that much fire, that much chaos, you can't do anything about it."
The identities of the two killed in the explosion have not been identified by law enforcement. Ross said he spoke to the folks who lived there in passing.
"It's sad, honestly, like, it's, you know, we didn't know them well. But out here they're our neighbors. You look out for each other. You help each other," Ross said.
Today, Ross and his kids made the short walk over here to check on the property and the animals. One horse can be seen from the road walking without a limp.
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