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Fire destroys home where SWAT settled earlier disturbance near Colorado State Monument, sheriff says

Evacuation orders for residents within two miles in the Glade Park area were lifted, and the cause is under investigation, Mesa County Sheriff's Office said.

MESA COUNTY, Colo. — An evacuation order has been lifted for a structure and brush fire that started Tuesday morning in Mesa County.

The fire was reported in the 15600 block of Holloway Lane near the Colorado National Monument. That's in the Glade Park area of Mesa County about 20 driving miles west of Grand Junction.

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) said they were initially called to an altercation between roommates at around 4:40 a.m. One of the people involved in the disturbance, 35-year-old Brandon Williams, was reported to have been armed with a gun, and witnesses said he fired at least one shot into the air before deputies arrived, the sheriff's office said.

The SWAT team responded to the disturbance and safely evacuated all of the people, including children, from the home, MCSO said. Deputies spoke with Williams and deescalated the situation, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies believed that Williams was no longer a threat to the surrounding area, MCSO said.

> Video above: Meteorologist Cory Reppenhagen explains how wildfires spread through neighborhoods.

At around 8 a.m., deputies in the area saw smoke and fire coming from the property involved in the earlier disturbance, deputies said. SWAT team members came back to the home and contacted Williams, who then surrendered peacefully, MCSO said.

The sheriff's office decided to evacuate residents within two miles of the fire due to the terrain where it was burning and conditions which would allow for rapid growth. An emergency alert was sent to about 70 residents, the sheriff's office said. 

MCSO said the home and a car burned in the fire and were deemed to be total losses. Fire crews contained the brush fire to about one acre and the evacuation order was lifted.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, MCSO said. Williams was arrested and is being held in the Mesa County Detention Center. He's being held on suspicion of:

  • Second-degree Arson 
  • Prohibited Use of a Weapon 
  • Criminal Mischief 
  • Domestic Violence
Credit: Mesa County Sheriff's Office
Brandon Williams

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