- Fire crews say extreme weather, including winds and frigid temperatures, complicated efforts to put out a fire that left a Clarklake home in ruins.
- Neighbors are already looking for ways to help the family that lost their home and belongings.
- WATCH THE VIDEO for footage of the fire, its aftermath, and neighbors organizing to help the family.
Water from a fire hose quickly turning to ice....Crews say cold weather complicated their efforts to put out this house fire in Clarklake.
Neighbors in this tight-knit community are already stepping in to help the family.
"They've lost everything," says Carol Hunt, Co-Owner of Doyle's Market.
She and co-owner Lori Giorgi are stepping in to help in the wake of the devastation you see here.
"We're just trying to get a bunch of meals together, and hats and gloves, and anything we can think of in the store that could help them," says Hunt.
I reached out to Grace Darling who posted this video on Facebook Monday morning:
She told me she saw the fire on Oakwood Avenue from her house and rushed over, worried it was her grandmother's home.
It was the house next door.
Columbia Township Fire Chief Scott Cota told me he got the call around 6:00 a.m....and found the house already in flames.
His description of what he found: "Heavily involved on all floors, rolling across the top of the roof already by the time we got here."
Cota says with winds fanning the fire, threatening nearby homes…the cold quickly turning water to ice, firefighters had a tough time:
"The wind was a lot, lot stronger this morning, really pushing that fire. We really struggled keeping the water supply going."
As crews began clean-up and demolition — slippery ice coating the street…the foliage…the firefighters themselves.
Cota says no one was injured in the fire, which reportedly started in the garage.
Hunt says she's confident this tight-knit community will come together quickly to help the family:
"We love to help and support the community any way we can…and we're going to definitely take up collections for them."
HERE'S MY FIRST LOOK AND REPORT FROM THE SCENE MONDAY MORNING:
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
