LUCERNE, Calif. – An early Monday morning fire destroyed a residence and damaged two other nearby structures in Lucerne, with firefighters expected to remain on scene for several hours.

Firefighters were dispatched to the fire, located in the 5800 block of Highway 20, just after 1:30 a.m., according to Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos.

Initial reports indicated a two-story structure on the lake side of the highway was fully involved.

Beristianos said the home, which appeared to be unoccupied, was heavily involved and too far gone by the time firefighters arrived and contained it.

He said the residence appeared to be a total loss, and two other structures nearby also were damaged, but he did not have an estimate of the extent of damage to those additional buildings while still on scene early Monday.

A total of 10 fire units, most from Northshore with mutual aid from Lakeport Fire, responded.

Firefighters cut away tree branches and other vegetation from around the burned house, with smoke still billowing out of a portion of it.

Because Beristianos said there was no water supply for the fire trucks on the side of the highway where the burned home was located, firefighters had to run a hose from across the street at the North Shore Villa senior apartments, leading to the highway shutdown.

California Highway Patrol officers and Lake County Sheriff’s deputies helped control traffic, which was closed down from Lake Street to around the area of Foothill Drive on the town’s eastern edge. Pacific Gas and Electric also sent crews in response to a request from incident command.

Beristianos said at the scene it was too early to tell what might have caused the fire.

However, he said some individuals had been seen walking from the area of the house. Deputies who responded to the area searched for the subjects but were unable to locate them.

The highway was expected to fully reopen at about 4 a.m.

Beristianos anticipated firefighters would be on scene for several hours to conduct mop up and overhaul operations.

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