East Fork fights fire in high winds

All four of East Fork Fire District’s structure engines responded to a fire on Lava Court in Topaz Ranch Estates on Monday morning.

Gusty winds contributed to the difficulty extinguishing the blaze, Battalion Chief Matthew Kruse said on Tuesday.

“Fire crews arrived on scene and found a single-family home well involved in fire with heavy smoke showing,” Kruse said. “All occupants were confirmed out of the residence by the first arriving fire engine. The fire scene and firefighters were subjected to gusty winds lending to fast spread and significant threat to the wildland.”

Douglas County Dispatch received multiple reports of the fire just before 10:30 a.m. and East Fork had the fire contained at around 11:30 a.m.

However, it required several hours work to check for hot spots and overhaul the fire scene.

Five engine companies, three ambulances, one squad, one Safety Captain and one Battalion Chief responded to the scene, amounting to 26 firefighters.

Carson City, Antelope Valley Fire and Central Lyon Fire District each supplied an engine to cover the district while most of East Fork was working on the fire with one engine.

One person was checked for smoke inhalation. No firefighters were injured.

“The fire was held to the structure with no other buildings or wildland becoming involved,” Kruse said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“Relentless dedication to training, building relationships with the neighboring fire agencies, and sending all the district’s four fire engines to the scene contributed to a successful outcome for this incident,” Kruse said.