- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Firefighters save houses from Monday fires; neighbors and passerby credited for efforts
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In two separate instances on Monday quick-acting neighbors and a passerby helped local firefighters prevent the destruction of homes threatened by fires.
The two fires occurred in Lucerne on Monday morning and near Lower Lake in the afternoon.
In Lucerne, a fire involving a 19-foot-long abandoned travel trailer was reported at about 11 a.m., according to Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos.
Beristianos said it's not known who abandoned the vehicle – which was packed with garbage – in the 6400 block of Country Club Drive near a vacant home some weeks ago.
Thanks to neighbors, the fire was knocked down by the time firefighters arrived on scene. “It was rolling when we got there,” he said.
Had the neighbors not acted as quickly as they had, Beristianos estimated that within another minute or two the fire would have spread into the eaves of the nearby house.
There was no damage to the house, said Beristianos, who remained on scene until just before 3 p.m.
Then, just before 1:30 p.m., Lake County Fire and Cal Fire were dispatched to the 12300 block of Spruce Grove Road near Lower Lake on the reports of grass fire threatening a structure.
Firefighters arriving on scene reported that “locals” had been working on the fire ahead of their arrival, according to radio reports.
Posts on Lake County News' Facebook page credited a passing Dunkin Pumps worker who stopped and put out most of the fire, which not only helped save the house – whose residents were reportedly away at the time – but also a frightened dog inside the home.
Reports from the scene estimated the fire burned about a quarter-acre of grass around the house.
Quick fire response by firefighters on Monday evening also stopped a fire from destroying a house in Clearlake.
The house fire was reported just before 7 p.m. in the 11000 block of Crestview Drive.
Units arriving on scene found a small fire consuming the front deck and starting to move underneath the house and the wall, according to radio reports.
That fire was contained just before 7:15 p.m., based on scanner traffic.
In other local fire news, on Monday afternoon firefighters responded to a smoke check shortly after 2 p.m. in the area of the Harvey fire, which burned seven acres off of Harvey Boulevard near Clearlake Oaks last week, as Lake County News has reported.
Firefighters at the reported finding a smoldering stump hole in the burn area that was quickly mopped up.
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