By Yvonne Corral and Felix Doligosa Jr.
Rocky Mountain News (Denver)
Copyright 2006 Denver Publishing Company
GRANBY, Colo. — Michael Arntson Jr. was looking forward to giving his dad Father’s Day presents on Sunday afternoon and watching him enjoy some home-cooked barbecue as the sun settled near the shores of Grand Lake.
He never got a chance to give his father the present of fishing lures.
Michael Arntson, 54, died early Sunday when a fire erupted in his house near Granby, according to the Grand County Coroner’s Office. His girlfriend, Denise Young, 40, also died in the blaze.
John and Dylan Lowe, a father and son who were spending the night as guests of Arntson, escaped the fire.
“It was a terrible date to fall on,” said Michael Arntson Jr.
Flames reaching as high as 20 feet destroyed the house at 246 County Road 644, neighbors said. The cause of the fire has not been determined and remains under investigation, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
Arnston said an electrical problem or the dryer might have been the cause.
“It was an accident,” he said.
Dylan Lowe, was sleeping on the living room couch around 1 a.m. when he was awakened by the faint beeps of the fire alarm, said John Lowe. The 15-year-old couldn’t breath and dropped down on his knees as he struggled to get to his father who was sleeping in a bedroom.
After Dylan woke his father up, they crawled toward the outside of the house.
Discovering that Arntson and Young didn’t make it out, the Lowes attempted to re-enter the house but were driven back by flames.
They banged on the windows of Arntson’s room but were only able to save his golden retriever, Lana.
“We did everything that we could to save them,” said John Lowe. “We try and try. I tell my son he did everything to save Mike.”
As firefighters arrived, neighbors grabbed hoses and sprayed water on the flames. Within minutes, the roof collapsed on the house, said neighbor Jaben Joesting.
“I’ve lived up here for 14 years,” said Joesting. “This is the most devastating.”
Arntson was known as a nice man who loved the outdoors. Born in Mankato, Minn., he developed a love for fishing and hunting elk, deer and pheasants.
He soon developed a passion for building homes and pursued it when he moved to Colorado during the 1980s. He started his own company, Falcon Construction Services.
He and his wife had three daughters and a son.
Arntson moved to Granby during the mid-1990s where he knew he could combine his passion for hunting and building homes.
“It reminded him of Minnesota,” said his son.
Other than his love for the outdoors, there was his family, said John Lowe. “His love for his kids made life wonderful,” he added.
After a divorce about four years ago, he started dating Young.
Young’s family could not be reached for comment.
On Monday, police tape cordoned off the home. Blackened walls teetered on the ground and a ravaged vehicle was parked where a garage once stood.
“I didn’t believe it when I saw the sky lit up,” said his son, who came up to the house as firemen were finishing up. “I couldn’t believe.”