A two-story home in Clearlake was completely destroyed by fire Thursday, Feb. 22. The home”s cliff-side position hindered suppression tactics and presented unsafe conditions for fire responders.
Units were dispatched at approximately 6:15 p.m. to an address on West 40th Street between Hillcrest and Uhl avenues. Upon arrival, firefighters found the structure to be fully involved with no way to get into the home and contain it.
“The house was built on a slope so we could basically, only attack the fire from the top,” said Lake County Fire Protection District (LCFPD) Battalion Chief Charlie Diener. “It was a dangerous fire if we would have put firefighters in the wrong place.”
The home, approximately 2,500 square feet, was positioned on a cliff side, partially supported by stilts.
“Getting under the structure presented an undue hazard to personnel,” Diener said. “We went into a defensive mode and protected the exposures, he continued. We let it burn down to a safe enough condition to put water on it.”
Diener said that they had attempted an offensive attack; however, the possibility of building coming down was too high to send personnel into the structure. “The seed of the fire was in the basement in the lower story and we couldnt get to it because of the danger of the structure collapsing,” he explained.
LCFPD responded with two engines, a heavy rescue unit and one water tender along with a crew of 11. North Shore Fire Authority Station 75, Clearlake Oaks, provided assistance with an engine and four firefighters. Additional assistance was rendered by Clearlake Police Department and Clearlake Community Patrol.
According to Diener, the last engine unit was released from the scene around 3 a.m. The water tender, along with three personnel, remained on scene throughout the night.
LCFPD continued to monitor the scene throughout the day Friday. The area is taped-off with a caution barrier, and has been red-tagged. A vehicle that had been suspended above the air on burnt rafter has been lowered; however, the area does continue to present extreme hazards.
The public is reminded not to go beyond the fire tape and parents of children living in the area are advised to keep an extra eye on them to prevent any injuries.
Investigation of the fire”cause is ongoing. The home was reportedly unoccupied and no injuries were reported as a result of the fire
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
