Cleanup of the 700 block where the fire occurred is expected to last through this evening, and it will remain closed to traffic. The blaze gutted Seasons Rotisserie & Grill, Half-Price Tees and Le Rendezvous Swiss Bakery.

Neighboring businesses, including Termar Gallery, Gardenswartz Outdoors and the Main Avenue Marketplace, are expected to open within the next few days.

Durango Fire & Rescue Authority spokesman Dave Abercrombie said officials will not set a deadline to determine the cause.

"We'll announce the cause of the fire when we're positive what caused the fire," Abercrombie said.

Durango Fire Marshall Tom Kaufman said Saturday that he and other investigators believe the fire started above Seasons, where Kaufman saw evidence of heavy charring near the main kitchen's hood-exhaust system.

"We know it didn't start in Le Rendezvous, and we know it didn't start in Half-Price Tees," Kaufman said.

Kaufman was on the scene within minutes of the first call at 1:39 p.m. and witnessed smoke coming from Seasons' roof.

The fire spread quickly to the neighboring businesses through the shared attics of the buildings, which DRFA Chief Dan Noonan said is a typical problem in older buildings. The attics share open space and timbers and are difficult to access. Noonan said they exhibit the same traits as many older homes: lots of accumulated junk.

"The older the building, the more stuff tends to be in the building," he said.

Noonan said four firefighters were on the roofs of the buildings attempting to fight the internal fires from above when an explosion rocked the neighborhood and knocked Deputy Chief Allen Clay from the roof.

Seven firefighters were injured in the explosion. They were taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center. Noonan and Kaufman said the blast was confined to Le Rendezvous.

Clay suffered chest trauma from the explosion and the fall. He was in fair condition at Mercy on Saturday. Firefighter John Brennan was also in fair condition, and Nathan McGrath was listed in good condition. Brennan and McGrath were released Saturday, and the other four hurt in the blast were treated and released Friday.

Two other firefighters who went to Mercy on Friday night were treated and released for minor injuries, bringing the total number of injured to nine.

Justin Wickes, who served as a firefighter in Denver before moving to Durango and joining DFRA as a reserve last May, was on the roof at the time of the explosion. Wickes described Friday as the worst day of his career.

"To be honest with you, it's something I'll never forget, including the sounds and the feeling," Wickes said. "When you're standing there talking with a firefighter one minute and then hear a noise that can only be described as something out of Hollywood and then be flying through the air and figuring out 'where am I going to land?' - I thought it was over.

"I landed on the truss system between the roof and the ceiling of the building. I don't know how high I went. All I know is I caught myself on the edge of the brick wall before I fell into the fire. My other concern immediately was how everyone else was doing because there were other people on the roof with me."

Calling himself "very lucky," Wickes escaped with sprains, bumps and bruises. He spoke to the other injured firefighters before he was released from the hospital Friday and said all were in good spirits.

Abercrombie said that firefighters encounter live gas lines more often than not.

Abercrombie, emphasizing that his opinion does not represent an official report, absolved Atmos Energy of any fault.

"We get here very quickly because we're stationed nearby," Abercrombie said. "The gas company has people out in the field doing their routine jobs, and they call them when something like this happens. We go ahead and fight the fire. We do the best we can to isolate utilities and those utilities were buried under ice and snow. The fact that there was a leak is no reason to be critical of their response, and they got here as quickly as anyone could expect."

Atmos Energy Public Affairs Manager Kevin Kerrigan confirmed that Atmos workers were working with the fire department to shut off the gas, which is standard procedure. He said he was confident that Atmos personnel acted how they are trained to act in emergency situations.

"We're cooperating in whatever we need to do to help them find what caused the fire and everything else that occurred," Kerrigan said. "We were called to the scene and we work with the fire department - sometimes they can shut it off themselves. If they haven't, like (Friday), we go in as long as it's safe for the employee to do it. Until this is investigated, I just don't want people to draw conclusions."

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