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Overheating Equipment Suspected As Cause of Mancos Excelsior Plant Fire

Photo courtesy of Brent McWhirter
Photo taken on the afternoon of Monday, May 8th

An overheating fan motor likely caused the fire that destroyed the Western Excelsior plant in Mancos on Monday.

 

 

That’s according to Mancos Fire Chief Tony Aspromonte. The investigation showed heat from the motor probably rose into an enclosed space above the plant’s knife sharpening room and ignited sawdust before workers realized there was a fire. On Monday, workers evacuated after the fire alarms went off, and the size of the fire increased quickly. 50 to 60 firefighters brought the fire under control early Tuesday morning, but the plant’s main building was completely destroyed. Officials say crews will continue to monitor the wreckage as the fire burns out completely.

Austin Cope is a former Morning Edition host for KSJD and now produces work on a freelance basis for the station. He grew up in Cortez and hosted a show on KSJD when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2010, he lived in Belgium, Ohio, Spain, northern Wyoming, and Himachal Pradesh, India before returning to the Cortez area. He has a degree in Politics from Oberlin College in Ohio.
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