House Fire Makes for a Crazy Saturday in Downtown Loveland

Any house fire in Colorado can be a very scary situation: one that happened in Downtown Loveland brought with it the suspected possibility of an explosion.

On October 17, 2026, I was on my way to meet friends for brunch; living in Downtown, I usually travel north on Lincoln to Eisenhower. That morning, I turned onto Lincoln to find many fire/police cars blocking the road near the former Safeway. I could see smoke, but couldn't really make out what was happening.

My day took me from west Loveland into Fort Collins for the afternoon to visit my brother; while we were out, I saw the "shelter in place" alert go out for a fairly big area in Downtown Loveland: 10th Street to the north, Jefferson Avenue to the east, 8th Street to the south, and Cleveland Avenue to the west. I wondered if it was related to the scene I saw earlier; it was.

Where Was the House Fire in Downtown Loveland That Brought 'Shetler in Place'?

According to reports, the house fire (just north of 8th Street along the west side of Lincoln Avenue) broke out in the morning; there were no reported injuries, but while Loveland Fire Rescue Authority personnel were clearing the house, they came across what looked to be a suspected ordnance of some sort. Loveland Police called in for extra help to determine if it was live explosive. They put the "shelter in place" order out at around 2:30 p.m.

About a half hour later, they'd gotten the device out of the house and lifted the "shelter in place" order. That was just in time, as the big Zombie Crawl would be starting at 4:00 p.m. along 4th Street. You'd have to assume that they concluded that it was not live explosive. As of this writing, they haven't said what the ordinance was, exactly.