A man suffered critical injuries in a house fire Monday north of Ignacio, according to the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.

The fire was reported at 8:17 a.m. in the 2000 block of County Road 516, said Sgt. Steve Reiter.

“It was determined this fire was started by a male in the midst of a mental health crisis,” Reiter said.

The Sheriff’s Office declined to release the man’s name, saying no criminal charges are expected to be filed.

The man was described as being in his 40s. He was flown to a hospital, possibly in Denver, with critical injuries, Reiter said.

“Overall, I would say it was a pretty awful incident,” he said.

The fire was reported by the man’s family and a second caller who saw the plume of smoke.

“Apparently, there was some visibility of this incident from the roadway,” Reiter said.

The house was described as a small, single-story residential structure. It was fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived, said Brad Egger, fire marshal with the Los Pinos Fire Protection District.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation, he said.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the structure. No firefighters were injured in extinguishing the blaze.

Firefighters remained at the scene until about 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Egger noted the driveway had not been plowed from the last snowstorm, which made accessing the home difficult for heavy equipment.

shane@durangoherald.com