Could have been ‘a catastrophe’: Doña Ana trailer blaze threatened other homes

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - If the winds had blown a different direction on Saturday, a blaze at a Doña Ana trailer home could have destroyed other structures.

"It could have been a catastrophe," said Tamra Pierce, who lost her home. "Everything could have gone up."

The fire ignited at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening on the 900 block of Walker Trail in Doña Ana. It was the hottest day of the year. A total of 24 firefighters responded to the scene, according to Doña Ana County.

A rock wall and dead brush was all that separated the mobile home from a neighborhood of homes. The nearest fire station was just 100 yards from the edge of the fire.

“It was very hot and windy," said Michael Heflin, who moved into the house just one night before it burned down. "If we wouldn’t have found it when we found it, all these trailer houses would have probably caught on fire.”

Lynn Hoffman told ABC-7 she tried her best to stop the flames from spreading to her neighborhood.

“If my neighbor’s house went down, mine would go down too," Hoffman explained. "So I started watering them down.”

The family is grateful to be alive, but they must now rebuild.

“I’m just trying to gather my thoughts. It doesn’t seem real and possible at this point, still," Heflin said. "It’s got me and the family tore up.