Fire engulfs Winterhaven house

An unoccupied one-story, single-family home was engulfed in flames that threatened wildland at the east end of River's Edge RV Resort, 2299 Winterhaven Drive, in Winterhaven.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, The Sun could not confirm the status of the fire.

A Winterhaven Fire Department firefighter who was fighting the blaze was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center as a precaution for a heat-related illness, according to Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert.

YFD was called to the scene shortly after noon on Monday by Winterhaven Fire Department, which requested mutual aid assistance due to the heavy smoke and flames coming from the structure.

The fire was threatening another one-story structure adjacent to the home as well as brush, including salt cedar and palm trees surrounding the home, but firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading, Erfert said.

"There is a potential for a wildland fire," Erfert told The Sun at the scene. "If we can stop it and hold it here, we're gonna be much better off ... It's a real hot fire."

He said due to the high temperatures, firefighters were using foam, instead of water, to combat the blaze.

"It's very hot. We are having to rotate fire personnel with equipment because of the heat of the equipment, the heat of the fire and the heat of the day.

"It's a dangerous situation. It's difficult to get in there and to stay in there with the fire. There are a lot of flaming embers. They've done a great job at holding it at the structure."

The Winterhaven Fire Department, Imperial County Fire Department, Rural/Metro Fire, Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighters, Arizona State Fire Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Marine Corps Air Station firefighters were on the scene, along with YFD.

The American Red Cross provided aid to help personnel cycling through firefighting duties to recover from exposure to extreme heat, according to a YFD press release.

Fighting the blaze was made more difficult by extreme afternoon temperatures. Firefighters were limited in their exposure to the fire to 10 to 15 minutes to avoid serious heat illnesses, the release said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.