John Henley — Special to the Record-Bee
LUCERNE — A house fire on Wednesday that gutted a newly-purchased 12th Street residence is being investigated as an apparent electrical fire.
Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins said neighbors reported seeing smoke from the house around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.
When firefighters arrived on scene, the house was fully involved, with the fire threatening to spread to neighboring homes.
To add to the already dangerous situation, live electric wires were down across 12th Street and the residence”s locked fence.
In order to gain access to the fire, Robbins had to cut the fence. It proved a tense moment for the fire chief, who was in danger of being electrocuted by a live 440-volt wire jumping around in the wet driveway.
Had the water made its way to the fence, Robbins quite possibly could have been electrocuted.
After gaining access, firefighters shifted their attention to saving neighboring houses.
Robbins called for assistance from two California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) stations in Nice and Upper Lake in order to completely surround the fire.
Due to the windy, hot conditions and blowing embers, a neighbor”s fence was charred and a fiberglass-covered parking structure of another next-door neighbor also was lost ? but crews battled hard and saved both neighboring homes.
Although firefighters were extremely fatigued, no one was injured in the blaze.
Robbins said the new owner had been in the house the day before to meet with PG&E to check on the wiring, at which time he had been told that the electrical main needed repairs and that it should not be used. The owner, wanting to check if appliances could work, apparently turned on the power, which was left on; officials believe this caused the fire.
