Highway 97 was closed for two hours Monday night as firefighters fought a structure fire on Dodge Road in Lac La Hache.
Lac La Hache Volunteer Fire Department chief Terry Murphy said his department received a call about the fire at 6:45 p.m. on Monday and headed for the scene. On arrival, he said they found the home already fully engulfed in flames. Thankfully, Murphy said, no one was home at the time of the blaze.
“We of course started actioning the fire and the 108 Mile Volunteer Fire Department provided mutual aid,” Murphy said. “Lac La Hache had three engines out and one tender and 108 came with two water tenders as well.”
Murphy said the road was closed due to the presence of powerlines near the fire. Once B.C. Hydro shut the power to those lines off, he said operations moved off the highway onto Dodge Road. Murphy said he thanks the motoring public for their patience during the incident.
After extinguishing the fire and preventing it from spreading to any neighbouring properties, Murphy said the scene was cleared around midnight.
100 Mile House RCMP were also on scene for traffic control but confirmed Tuesday no criminal investigation would be opened into the fire’s cause. The house’s occupants, Tyme Pickering and her dogs, are currently staying with her sister Shaylene Gulliman. Gulliman has requested furniture donations to make Pickering comfortable. She can be contacted via her Facebook profile.
While it was not the cause of the fire, Murphy said now is a good time for homeowners to service their furnaces and clean their chimneys ahead of the winter months.