A family escaped with just the clothes on their backs when a fast-moving fire, whipped by strong winds, ripped through their Laramie County home early Tuesday morning.
About 30 firefighters responded to the 2 a.m. blaze that started at the northwest corner of a home in the 900 block of Redhawk Drive south of Cheyenne near the South Greeley Highway.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, said Ben Hopkins, acting chief of Laramie County Fire District 1. Firefighters remained at the home until at least 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Jessica Kautzman and her husband, Scott, were in their bedroom when their 19-year-old son, who had been sleeping on a couch upstairs, alerted them that the house was on fire.
Two other sons, ages 17 and 22, were asleep downstairs in an unfinished basement.
“The fire alarms were going off, and I yelled for the kids to get upstairs,” Jessica Kautzman said in a phone interview Tuesday morning while shopping at Walmart for toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, and other essentials.
Her insurance agent had to drive her to the store because the fire destroyed three vehicles parked in her garage, and she had no way to get there.
The home burned to the ground, and the family was left with nothing — including Christmas presents that burned — nine days out from the holiday.
A south Cheyenne family escaped with just the clothes on their backs Tuesday when a fast-moving fire, whipped by strong winds, ripped through their home. The fire also burned three vehicles and all their Christmas presents. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) 
A south Cheyenne family escaped with just the clothes on their backs Tuesday when a fast-moving fire, whipped by strong winds, ripped through their home. The fire also burned three vehicles and all their Christmas presents. (Standby News via YouTube) 
A south Cheyenne family escaped with just the clothes on their backs Tuesday when a fast-moving fire, whipped by strong winds, ripped through their home. The fire also burned three vehicles and all their Christmas presents. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) 
A south Cheyenne family escaped with just the clothes on their backs Tuesday when a fast-moving fire, whipped by strong winds, ripped through their home. The fire also burned three vehicles and all their Christmas presents. (Standby News via YouTube) 
A south Cheyenne family escaped with just the clothes on their backs Tuesday when a fast-moving fire, whipped by strong winds, ripped through their home. The fire also burned three vehicles and all their Christmas presents. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Just A Blanket
The only item Jessica Kautzman was able to grab before escaping was a blanket. However, that provided little comfort for the family members, who were shoeless as they watched firefighters battle flames propelled by strong winds.
“The fire moved so fast,” Jessica Kautzman said.
Neighbors also gathered outside of the home to watch the inferno.
Jeremy Holland, a news stringer who posts police and fire videos to social media under the handle Standby News, said that when he arrived at the scene, the house was already engulfed, and flames had sparked a grass fire.
“Everything was on fire, like crazy,” Holland said, adding that as many as eight emergency vehicles responded.
A 40-minute video shot by Holland shows wind whipping the blaze with firefighters working to gain control with water hoses.
At one point, the strong wind blew up the flames so much that firefighters could only stand and watch because the blaze was so volatile.
The fire destroyed all of the Kautzmans' belongings, including photographs, artwork, plaster casts of paw prints from previous pets, Christmas presents, and plenty of memories.
The family’s cat is also missing,
“It’s just stuff (that was destroyed),” Jessica Kautzman said, adding the family has relatives nearby to help. “I keep telling myself we will be OK. No matter what happens, we are all together, and we will make it.”
Scott Schwebke can be reached at scott@cowboystatedaily.com.
