CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Firefighters on Monday stopped a house fire and saved the home's elderly resident.

The fire was first dispatched just before 11:45 a.m. Monday at a residence in the 3600 block of Old Highway 53.

Radio reports indicated a stove and cabinets were on fire at the home, with both Lake County Fire and Cal Fire dispatched.

Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta said firefighters arrived at the stick-built single family home to find the house filled with smoke and a room and its contents on fire.

Crews entering the home found a medically fragile woman in a hospital bed, Sapeta said.

He said firefighters successfully removed the woman from the home and took her to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for evaluation for smoke inhalation.

Sapeta said they originally had planned to have her flown out of county, but no air ambulance was available due to weather.

Sapeta said the fire crews were able to keep the fire confined to the one room and the contents of cabinets and drawers, with minimal overall fire and smoke damage in the home.

The quick arrival of firefighters stopped the fire and saved the woman's life, according to Sapeta.

“Another five minutes and we wouldn't have had the same outcome,” Sapeta said.

Sapeta said Monday that the fire's cause remained under investigation.

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