PORT ANGELES — A family is without a home after their house burned, leaving only a small U.S. flag hanging intact on the outside wall.
No one was injured, but the family dog remained missing on Thursday afternoon after the home of Michael Golling and Donna Lewis burned at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The 24-by-60-foot manufactured home at 111 Alder Lane in Port Angeles was already aflame, with the roof collapsing, by the time firefighters arrived, said Clallam County Fire District No. 3 Chief Jon Bugher in a statement.
“[Golling] reported that he was cooking food in the microwave, and the wall between the electrical panel and the microwave caught on fire,” Bugher said.
All belongings lost
Golling and Lewis are now staying with friends but lost all of their belongings, he said.
“They have only their clothes they were wearing when the fire started,” Bugher said.
The fire, reported when a neighbor walking by saw smoke, is considered to be accidental, but it is still unclear if an electrical problem sparked the flames, said Bugher, adding that the cause remained under investigation on Thursday.
Firefighters in three engines fought the fire, but the home could not be saved.
After battling the flames for several hours, little of the former structure remained.
Aside from the flag hanging from the outside of the house, all else was charred and in ashes.
Firefighters remained at the home until 9:30 a.m. Thursday to make sure embers did not reignite, Bugher said.
Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to the surrounding homes, he added.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
