1 person killed in Chaparral, NM house fire

Firefighters found a burned body inside a charred trailer in Chaparral early Wednesday morning, a Dona Ana County spokesman told ABC-7.

Otero county fire crews were first to arrive to the 300 block of County Road A-74.

The community of Chaparral straddles both Dona Ana and Otero counties.

The scent of burned wood was still in the air near the collapsed trailer Wednesday afternoon. Only a swing set and a few cars remained intact outside.

Neighbors told the ABC-7 New Mexico Mobile Newsroom they heard an explosion very early in the morning, then sirens.

Scarlett Horan, a longtime Chaparral resident, told us she was socked to hear what happened and see a television news crew there.

“Everything was intact, no problems: dogs running around happy, barking at these dogs and everything was intact, no problems,” Horan said. “And I get here today, see you people here, see the trailer is not a trailer anymore.”

At this time, it is not clear what sparked the fire.

Dona Ana County Commissioner Doctor David Garcia lives only three miles away from the mobile home. He tells ABC-7 he’s sorry to hear what happened. He woke up to the sound of sirens.

“It was still dark so you could see a glow, a yellow bright glow and you could tell right away by just looking at it from that distance that it was pretty hot,” Garcia said.

More information will be added to this article as it becomes available.