A suspicious fire broke out at the Sears building on Main Street early Thursday morning.
Cortez Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde reported the fire began in a recycling Dumpster full of cardboard in the alley. The fire jumped to some nearby wood pallets and spread up the back of the building.
On-duty Cortez fire crews responded to the fast-spreading blaze in four minutes after a call came in around 2:30 a.m., he said.
“When they arrived the fire had reached into the eaves and soffits, and was burning the outside stucco. It was difficult because it was so high on the building. We used the ladder trucks and were able to knock it down and clear it in two hours,” Vandevoorde said.
Cortez responded with two engines and the ladder truck. The Lewis-Arriola Fire Department responded to the fire as well. A total of 20 firefighters were on scene to fight the fire.
Cortez Police officer Dave Allmon reported the blaze after investigating a glowing light in the area while on patrol.
There were no injuries.
Investigators are calling the fire “suspicious” and are sifting through the scene for evidence. Officials are trying to determine if nearby businesses had security cameras that might reveal clues to the fire’s cause.
Sears suffered interior and product damage from smoke getting inside the building.
The store will be closed until further notice to allow time for fire and insurance officials to investigate.
“It caused quite a bit of damage,” Vandevoorde said. “It was close to getting a lot bigger.”
