A De Beque man is without a home this Christmas after it caught fire late Wednesday night.

At about 10:30pm Christmas Eve, the De Beque Fire Department was called out to the 4500 block of U Road after receiving reports that a house was on fire. When crews arrived on scene, they say they could see flames and heavy smoke pouring out of the home.

One man, the owner of the home, was inside when the fire broke out. Officials say he had fallen asleep in his chair and was awakened by the smoke. They say he was eventually able to make it out of the house unharmed.

Firefighters say because of the structure and layers of the home, the fire was very difficult to extinguish. Crews worked on containing the fire until 5:00am Christmas morning, then reported back later Christmas Day to control the hot spots.

Firefighters say it's unfortunate this had to happen to the home owner when it did.

"He's with some friends right now and we've contacted the Red Cross to see if they can get him some clothes, a place to live and stuff like that," said De Beque Fire Chief Nick Marx.

Officials believe the fire was caused by a wood burning stove inside the home. Damage is estimated at $250,000.