UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Two structures were lost and a third damaged in an early morning fire on Wednesday.
The fire, first reported shortly before 12:30 a.m., occurred in the area of 1413 W. Highway 20 off of Hicks Trail, as Lake County News has reported.
Firefighters and a deputy arriving at scene initially reported as many of four structures were damaged, according to radio reports.
However, Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said Wednesday afternoon that based on the assessment of the scene a total of two structures were destroyed, with a third sustaining damage.
Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire and Cal Fire worked the incident, Beristianos said.
The buildings that burned included a large, two-story home and a storage outbuilding, said Beristianos. A garage sustained 25-percent damage.
There also was about a half-acre of vegetation that burned on the property, Beristianos said.
Cal Fire put in a defense line around the fire. Beristianos said that, while the grass was green, the undergrowth was dry and so it burned very well. “We were fortunate that it was pretty much surrounded by roads.”
The main house was unoccupied, he said. “Apparently nobody has lived in it for about a year.”
During that time, transients had been in and out of the building and are believed to have damaged the house, according to Beristianos.
Power lines were down at the back of the property but did not contribute to the fire, Beristianos said.
He said the fire was well under way by the time firefighters were called. When he arrived, the second story of the house was ready to collapse.
Fire units remained on scene until around noon Wednesday while investigators worked to evaluate the cause, Beristianos said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Beristianos did not have a dollar estimate for total damage to the property.
“Because the damage was so extensive there's not much to work with,” he said, adding the investigators are trying to get a history on the house and conduct interviews.
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