LUCERNE, Calif. – A woman was injured and her home was damaged in a Saturday afternoon fire in Lucerne that began due to a wood stove.
The fire was first reported just after noon on Saturday in the 7100 block of E. Highway 20 near Rosemont Drive, according to radio reports.
Firefighters arriving on scene minutes later reported finding heavy smoke coming from the two-story wood structure, which is located across the highway across from Clear Lake.
Northshore Fire Chief Mike Ciancio told Lake County News that the home’s resident was lighting her wood stove when it flashed on her.
“She sustained burns to her hand trying to put the fire out,” he said.
The woman later was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Ciancio said. Due to the weather, an air ambulance wasn’t available to fly her out of county.
Ciancio said the fire was difficult to access because the house is located on a steep hillside. So rather than being able to drive in, firefighters had to get to it by foot.
Shortly after arriving on scene, incident command requested that Highway 20 be closed both ways temporarily, according to scanner reports. The closure was in effect a little more than two hours due to the firefighting effort, with the highway reopened shortly before 2:30 p.m.
“We were drafting water out of the lake so we had hoses across the highway and that was the reason for asking CHP and Caltrans to shut the highway down in both directions,” Ciancio said.
Ciancio said it took about 45 minutes to contain the fire.
He said the home’s second story looks to be a total loss, and the house isn’t currently habitable.
In addition to Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and Lakeport Fire also were part of the firefighting response, Ciancio said. All units had been released by 3 p.m.
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Woman injured, home damaged in Saturday fire
- Elizabeth Larson
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