A woman suffered serious burns last week from an explosion in her camper parked on the San Juan National Forest near Mancos, the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman, who is from Florida, had second-degree burns on 30% of her body, said Mancos Fire Department paramedics at the scene. She was airlifted by Flight For Life to Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, then to a Denver hospital. Her condition was not available.
The explosion, deemed accidental, occurred about 4 a.m. May 21 and appeared to have come from a propane leak from a heater that ignited, said Sheriff Steve Nowlin.
The homemade camper was attached to a Ford pickup with New Mexico plates and was parked off Forest Service Road 566, northeast of Mancos. The woman, who is the owner of the camper, was the only occupant.
The suspected cause of the flash fire occurred when the woman attempted to relight a stove or gas appliance, the report said.
Debris from portions of the camper, including the rear door and wall, as well as contents from the interior, were blown 100 feet from the vehicle. All the glass windows on the cab-over-camper were blown off.
The Mancos Fire Department, Flight for Life and Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident, which was reported with a 911 call.
