Between getting stuck in the mud and shuttling water from a hydrant seven miles away, firefighters spent several hours early Saturday battling a fire that destroyed a large home between Carlsborg and Port Angeles.
Firefighters saved a neighboring garage and the homeowners’ car, but the two-story house at 326 Barnes Road was wiped out in the blaze, Clallam County Fire District No. 3 Assistant Chief Ben Andrews said.
Fire officials could not determine a cause, but say the fire does not seem suspicious.
“It appeared to have probably started in the basement, which was a workshop,” Andrews said.
“But it was too destroyed to find any really clear indicators.”
The house was fully involved by the time firefighters reached it.
Firefighters’ difficulties
The 20 firefighters who responded to the blaze, reported by the two homeowners just after midnight, faced major hurdles in getting to the home and getting water to it, Andrews said.
The long driveway leading to the house, south of U.S. Highway 101, was narrow and muddy, and the first fire truck to arrive became stuck about 200 feet from the house, Andrews said.
Firefighters left the truck where it was and pulled the hoses to the house.
“That actually didn’t hurt us too much, because we were able to pull lines from where we stopped,” Andrews said.
“Had we got 600 feet back, it would have been a real problem.”
From the house’s rural location, the nearest hydrant was near Costco Wholesale at Hooker Road and Highway 101, more than seven miles away, forcing firefighters to truck in water using their new, almost 4,000-gallon tender.
“We probably shuttled about 25,000 gallons of water,” Andrews said.
