PORT ANGELES — A blaze that destroyed a home Sunday flared up again Monday morning.
“It was putting out quite a bit of black smoke,” said Sam Phillips, chief of Clallam Fire District No. 2, adding crews could see flames when they arrived at about 11:15 a.m.
The fire ripped through the home Sunday afternoon, completely destroying the building and causing multiple propane tanks to explode, firefighters said.
Fire District No. 2 sent 20 firefighters to the blaze at 274 Alice Road at 3:47 p.m. Sunday, and it took at least half an hour to knock down the flames, said Assistant Chief Mike DeRousie.
Alice Road is about 2 miles south of Port Angeles off Black Diamond Road.
The address was incorrectly reported initially due to incorrect information provided to the Peninsula Daily News.
When firefighters arrived at 3:55 p.m. Sunday, they found a “well involved working house fire with flames venting through the roof and multiple windows,” according to Phillips.
He said putting the fire out was a challenge. There was debris throughout the house, including several propane tanks, and firefighters were greeted by a locked gate when they arrived.
DeRousie shut off the gas line from a 100 gallon propane tank and rolled it away from the fire so firefighters could work more safely, he said.
“There were a lot of propane tanks,” he said, adding that firefighters took a defensive tact and that nobody went inside to fight the fire.
“Unfortunately it was a total loss,” he said.
The renters of the house, Vicki Lee Hovey and Michael Duane Welches, were not home when the fire started, he said. DeRousie said the fire likely started in the chimney.
No one was injured in the fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, however fire district investigators report the fire appears to be accidental in nature.
DeRousie said the American Red Cross would help the renters. He was unsure if the homeowner, Doug Hawes, had home insurance.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at [email protected].
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 firefighters fight a structure fire at 263 Alice Road near Port Angeles on Sunday. (Jay Cline/Clallam County Fire District No. 2)
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 responded to a house fire southwest of Port Angeles on Sunday afternoon. (Jay Cline/Clallam County Fire District No. 2)
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 firefighters fight a house fire southwest of Port Angeles on Sunday afternoon. (Jay Cline/Clallam County Fire District No. 2)
