An outdoor fire partially destroyed a lakeside home in Watson Lake last Saturday.
Homeowner Ron Frank was sitting on the second floor of his house when he smelled smoke at around five p.m., said fire chief Dan Miller.
“He went down to the lake side of the house, where the deck is, and saw she was on fire,” said Miller.
“A lot of it was out on the front deck and it moved inside,” he said.
The fire department responded with two fire trucks and 12 firefighters.
“We had Yukon Electrical Company Limited on the scene to disconnect the power because we couldn’t do anything before that’s done,” said Miller.
“Another five minutes and the house would have been totally lost,” he said.
The fire eventually gutted the whole lower level, which was being rented out as a suite. Neither the tenant nor Frank’s wife Sheila were home at the time of the fire, said Miller.
“We had it out in a couple of hours,” he said. “(The house) isn’t in good shape right now, the whole basement is burnt out and it’s hard to say if it’s a total loss or not.”
“But we saved all their stuff upstairs - their personal stuff.”
The Franks have lived in the house for decades and raised a family there, said Miller.
“Their three girls moved on and they’re in Alberta, so I think the (parents) were thinking of moving on down that way because all their grandchildren are out there,” he said.
“They were a great family and they lived in Watson Lake for a long time.”
Firefighters have not yet determined the cause of the fire and arson is not suspected, said Miller.
The Watson Lake Fire Department is still investigating and the Yukon’s fire marshal may also investigate. (James Munson)