- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Wisedas Resort catches fire; building being allowed to burn
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A shuttered lakeside resort caught fire on Sunday afternoon, and fire officials decided to let the building burn due to unsafe conditions.
The fire at the old Wisedas Resort – located at 14375 Lakeshore Drive – was first reported by multiple callers at about 1 p.m. Sunday, according to reports from the scene.
Lake County Fire Protection District, assisted by Northshore Fire and South Lake County Fire, responded to the scene, where the two-story structure – estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet – was found to be on fire.
Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta responded and acted as incident commander.
“Basically, we're letting it collapse,” due to unsafe conditions, according to Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown, who was working at the scene.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they quickly went into defensive mode, said Brown, setting up four major water streams around the building to protect other structures nearby.
Brown said firefighters had attempted to make an interior attack, but it was too dangerous and they had to back out.
He said firefighters had recently had a drill on the resort, and so already were trained on how to respond if a fire occurred at the resort.
A collapse zone was set up around the burning resort building, Brown said.
The fire's cause was not immediately known, said Brown. He said vagrants had been living in the structure, which had been reported to have been closed for several years. A bar called Reflections had been located there.
Brown said Lake County Fire had five engines and a ladder truck on scene. Along with Brown, Northshore sent one engine and a support team, and South Lake County Fire sent an engine and a battalion chief.
Despite heavy draws on the water system, “We never ran out of water,” said Brown, crediting the Highlands Water Co. for a great effort in getting firefighters the water supply they needed.
He said Lake County Environmental Health was notified due to runoff from the firefighting effort going into Clear Lake. Radio reports indicated additionally that Lake County Lakebed Management and California Department of Fish and Wildlife were notified.
Shortly before 3 p.m. it was estimated that the operation at the fire scene would continue for another six to 12 hours, and Brown confirmed that firefighters would be there all night.
Lakeshore Drive was closed to traffic, and was expected to be closed for some time, said Brown.
Additional details will be published as they become available.
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