LAKE COUNTY — Emergency personnel had their hands full this weekend with two structure fire incidents and an arson-caused wildland fire near a structure that broke out within 48 hours of each other between Saturday and Sunday.
Most recently, two residences on Northshore Drive were burned in Hidden Valley Lake after flames were reported just after midnight on Monday morning. Firefighters were dispatched at 12:23 a.m. and arrived to find one of the two homes 80 percent involved in the fire, with the second home 60 percent involved.
Both residences were described as total losses by Cal Fire. The two homes involved were located at 18717 and 18703 North Shore Dr.
According to Bob Minenna, a correspondent for this newspaper who was at the scene of the fire, eight fire engines responded to the incident, as well as one water tender and 30 firefighters.
The Lake County Fire Protection District, Hidden Valley Community Service District, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Hidden Valley Security and South Lake County Fire Protection District were on scene in addition to Cal Fire.
The fire spread only minimally to surrounding vegetation, and was contained in less than two hours, based on a Cal Fire press release.
One firefighter was treated for a minor burn injury and was subsequently released, said Cal Fire. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Apartments threatened near Tractor Supply
As of Monday morning, firefighters were still performing checks in the area of a vegetation fire that burned just over 3.25 acres between the Tractor Supply and the Cache Creek Apartments in Clearlake.
The fire had begun at about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, said Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeda. It saw the Cache Creek Apartment buildings and nearby areas evacuated, but the blaze did not reach any structures.
Sapeda said that by the time the firefight was underway, the “winds had calmed down,” making the flames easier to tame.
But a secondary spot fire had been discovered and extinguished several hours after crews had suppressed the main fire, Sapeda noted. Then on Sunday, another small patch of vegetation rekindled in a rocky area where bulldozers had been unable to reach. Firefighters put that out, too, Sapeda said, and are performing continuous checks in the area.According to Clearlake Police Department arrest records, Adam Joseph Miller was arrested at Tractor Supply at 7:49 p.m. on Saturday for one count of arson to an inhabited structure. Miller is listed as a 28-year-old white male weighing 150 pounds and standing at 5 feet 7 inches.
Home burns in Clearlake
Prior to the Tractor Supply incident, firefighters had responded to a residential structure fire near Old Highway 53 in Clearlake.
The fire at a residence on 40th and Arnold Avenue in Clearlake early Saturday morning destroyed at least five vehicles and caused a family of four to escape by dropping to the ground off a balcony in the two story house. Multiple agencies worked to contain the blaze.
According to scanner reports, the units were toned out at 2:45 a.m. and arrived to find the structure engulfed in flames with several downed power lines threatening adjoining structures.
Two adults and two children were living at the property. but they escaped before fire fighters arrived. One of the kids suffered a broken leg after jumping off the balcony of the house according to reports from medical personnel at the scene.
It took fire crews approximately an hour to contain the fire and according to officials the injuries were assessed as “moderate to minor.” Family members were transported to Clearlake Adventist Health for treatment of their burn injuries.
Resources from Cal Fire, the Lake County Fire Protection District, North Shore Fire Protection, and South Lake County Fire Protection included several engines, medical crews and a water tender.
The cause of the fire was still unknown as of Monday afternoon.
