A La Plata County family, including a mother and two small children, have been displaced from their home after a double-wide trailer caught fire Friday east of Durango.

The blaze was reported about 10:40 a.m. on Pine Ridge Road in the Alpine Shadows subdivision.

Sarah Turner said she was babysitting her sister’s two daughters, ages 11 months and 6 years, when the 6-year-old girl saw smoke coming from the ceiling inside the living room. Turner said she opened the front door and saw smoke and flames.

“The whole front area (of the home) was on fire when I opened the front door,” she said.

The owner of the home, Jessica Haydon, was in Durango getting her hair done when she was notified.

“I had stuff in my hair, so we had to rinse it out real quick,” she said.

Haydon said she rushed home, at least with the knowledge her sister and daughters made it out safely.

“It was nerve-wracking,” she said. “I was hoping I wasn’t going too fast. I had to definitely shift down to make sure I wasn’t driving like a maniac.”

Turner said she had time to grab the two girls, her dog, a diaper bag and a bunch of clothes.

She called 911 and waited for firefighters to respond. The home is in a remote area surrounded by piñon and juniper trees northeast of Elmore’s Corner.

“ (The response) felt like 8 million years. I’m sure it was quick, though,” Turner said.

Firefighters arrived to find an active fire in the living room. They attacked the fire and were able to knock down the flames within minutes, said Michael Krupa, deputy fire chief-operations with the Durango Fire Protection District. But the fire remained active in the space between the ceiling and the roof of the double-wide trailer, he said.

“We’ve still got some fire between the ceiling and the roof, and that’s what they’re digging in to find right now,” Krupa said.

Haydon, who is the general manager at Fired Up Pizzeria in Durango, said she wasn’t immediately sure where she and her daughters would spend the night Friday.

She had just gotten two kittens a day earlier. Firefighters were able to save both animals.

Krupa said the trailer is likely a total loss. Red Cross was called to assist the family, he said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

“The origin of the fire appears to be on the front porch and started on the outside and made its way into the house,” Krupa said. ”And investigators are focusing on the front porch at this time.“

shane@durangoherald.com