Firefighters fought two blazes overnight in the suburbs west of Denver.
The West Metro Fire Protection District responded to an apartment fire in Golden at about 11 p.m. Sunday and a second fire in Lakewood at about 2:30 a.m. today.
The earlier fire at the Cliffs at Sixth Avenue West, 274 Holman Way, scorched one apartment, and three other units were damaged by water and smoke, said Cindy Matthews, a West Metro spokeswoman.
The second fire broke out at a home in the 14000 block of West Evans Circle in the Green Mountain area of Lakewood, said Micki Trost, a West Metro spokeswoman.
When firefighters arrived at the Evans Circle home, flames were through the roof and torching 40 feet high, Trost said.
The Lakewood fire was reported by a neighbor who called 911. Sixty firefighters responded to the blaze.
People in both fires all evacuated safely, but the second fire killed a family pet, a black and white terrier named Oreo, Trost said.
The Lakewood fire was so intense, and wind-swept, that the initial home was totally destroyed and flames jumped to two nearby homes, damaging them, Trost said.
The cause of both fires is under investigation.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
