Three confirmed dead in house fire

CLOVIS — Three people were confirmed dead in a Tuesday morning house fire, according to the Clovis Fire Department.

The fire at 420 S. Wheaton was reported to CFD at 4:04 a.m. Tuesday, Deputy Chief Byron Dixon told The News. The fire was knocked down in about 45 minutes, but crews spent the next few hours monitoring hot spots.

Three adults were confirmed fatalities in the blaze. Dixon did not have information on their identities as of Tuesday afternoon.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, two of the bodies had been removed from the fire. Removal of the third was delayed because of structural concerns, officials said.

Dixon said the department had no reason to believe anybody beyond those three were in the residence.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Tuesday afternoon, with the state fire marshal’s office joining the investigation due to the fatalities.

District Attorney Andrea Reeb said the victims’ bodies will be sent to Santa Fe for autopsy but there was no obvious indication of foul play. She said the region’s Major Crimes Unit was not activated as part of the investigation.

“I don’t think they know (what happened),” Reeb said.

“My only role has been securing search warrants just so we can hold the scene until we know more about what’s going on. We’re just trying to cross our t’s,” Reeb said, in case investigators determine the fire was not an accident.

Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller said the fire was reported by a neighbor and two passing motorists.