OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A cabin on the northern shore of Lake Crescent was destroyed in a fire Sunday afternoon.
The fire, which was reported at about 12:40 p.m., consumed the house, and firefighters from Clallam County Fire districts No. 2 and 4 prevented it from spreading to a cabin next door.
No one was injured.
One man was inside the cabin when the fire started, but got out before the cabin was consumed, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 Chief Jon Bugher said.
The man’s name was not available on Sunday.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, and the square footage and age of the cabin were not available on Sunday.
Bugher said that an electrical box exploded at some point, but it wasn’t clear if that was a cause or a result of the fire.
Olympic National Park Spokeswoman Barb Maynes said that District No. 2 responds to structure fires in that area of the park.
“Our firefighters are trained for wildland fires,” she said.
“But under a mutual aid agreement, they handle all of our structure fires.”
Maynes said that the cabin is part of a property that was either donated or sold to the park, but that a lease agreement was reached to allow the previous owners to stay there for a period of time before the land officially reverts to park property.
Maynes said she wasn’t sure when the negotiation was reached or how long it was for. She also said she wasn’t sure who was living there.
Bugher said the structure was a total loss.
The heat of the flames began to burn the next-door-neighbor’s deck, and it sustained minor damage, Bugher said.
Because of the narrow winding road that follows the shore of Lake Crescent north from U.S. Highway 101, large engines could not make it up to the site of the fire.
Those responding included 12 firefighters from District No. 2, plus some volunteers from the city and district, three tenders, an engine, an ambulance and a command unit.
Water was drawn from a 2.5-inch fire line that was pressurized, Bugher said.
Firefighters could have also drafted water from the lake, he said, but that would have involved moving trucks to boat ramps at East Beach, which is about a mile away, and that water isn’t pressurized.
Bugher said the district is looking for more volunteers for the Lake Sutherland area to help response times for fires such as this one.
For more information, contact Bugher at 360-452-7725.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
Photographer Chris Tucker contributed to this report.
