CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A family was displaced from their home on Christmas Eve following a late-night house fire.
The fire on the lakeshore in the 3900 block of Oak Drive was first reported just before 10 p.m.
Initial reports from the scene stated the structure’s roof was on fire, and that the home’s residents as well as residents in adjacent homes evacuated.
It also was reported over the radio that a man was inside the residence. A short time later it was reported that the man escaped.
At the time the fire was dispatched, fire units were returning from the Hofacker Lane area near Hidden Valley Lake where they had responded on a report of a possible wildland fire. However, no fire was located.
Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta told Lake County News that several crews from Lake County Fire and Cal Fires responded to Oak Drive, and they reported being able to see the fire from the gooseneck area of Lakeshore Drive.
While originally the fire was said to just be on the roof of the two-story home, “It was the entire second story that was involved,” Sapeta said.
He said the fire was confined the home, with the homes on both sides protected.
While the home wasn’t destroyed, Sapeta said there was a lot of damage from water, heat and smoke.
He said Red Cross was called to provide housing for the elderly couple and their adult grandson who had just moved into the home permanently after having used it as a summer home.
Sapeta said the house is in the Sulphur fire area but it hadn’t been affected by that fire, which had made it to the top of Oak Drive.
Early Monday, Sapeta did not have an idea of the fire’s cause.
Sapeta cleared the scene at about 12:30 a.m. and the last of the units left following the completion of overhaul at about 2 a.m., according to radio reports.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, a house in Clearlake Oaks burned, as Lake County News has reported. That fire appeared to have been caused by an electrical issue in the house, where firefighters found a large amount of marijuana growing.
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Clearlake home sustains major damage in late-night fire
- Elizabeth Larson
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