Fire destroys Oatman home

Ordinarily, a home fire without injuries is nothing I would get too concerned about on Route 66 News.

But this home fire was on the main drag of the isolated Route 66 desert town of Oatman, Ariz. Fires are a huge concern in Oatman because the businesses are packed together, and firefighting help is about 30 minutes away. One blaze in Oatman has the potential to make the whole village go up in smoke.

“If one of those fires ever occurred in the middle of town, we’d all be in trouble,” said Jerry Love of the Oatman Chamber of Commerce, whom I spoke with on the phone.

According to this report in the Mohave Daily News, the home of Cat and Willard Smith on Route 66 in Oatman burned to the ground Friday. They weren’t hurt, but they lost a pet cat and jewelry-making equipment and supplies used for their two Little Bear’s businesses in town.

Oatman’s brush-fires unit initially responded to the blaze, which was on the south end of Oatman, but they were hampered by high winds. At least three other area fire departments assisted in controlling the blaze that threatened other structures up the hill.

Love said the fire wasn’t deemed as suspicious.

The town has pitched in to help the Smiths get back on their feet. If you want to help, call the Oatman Chamber at 928-768-6222.

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