UPPER LAKE — A residential structure fire that had already spread throughout a single family residence east of Upper Lake on Saturday by the time firefighters arrived left no one injured, Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Mike Ciancio said.
The fire broke out at around 8 p.m. Saturday evening, Ciancio said. The two-story, stucco building it burned was located on a ridge near Bambi Lane.
“It was pretty visible from most of the Northshore because it’s up on a ridge top,” Ciancio said.
Three fire engines responded to the blaze, as well as one water tender, the all-volunteer Northshore Fire District Support Team, a medic and two chief officers. Lakeport Fire Protection District sent one of the three engines as mutual aid, Ciancio added.
No one appeared to have been inside the house when the fire began. The family who lives there was “not home at the time,” Ciancio said, and another person who was staying at the house was out visiting a friend.
Ciancio said firefighters were on scene until almost 1 a.m. Sunday due to the size of the residence and the extent of the fire throughout it. Some returned later that day to put out several hot spots that were still smoldering.
The cause of the fire has still not been determined, Ciancio noted, in part due to the way the fire swept through the stucco building, leaving the outside walls still standing despite both floors having been burned out. This made the house “unsafe to investigate,” Ciancio said.
