Fire damages Cloverdale-area home

A fire at a home in the Cloverdale area Monday morning caused about $90,000 damage and the state Fire Marshal’s Office is helping investigate the cause, officials said.

Cloverdale Rural Fire District crews were dispatched around 9 a.m. to the fire on Sagebrush Lane, just off Highway 20 east of Sisters, said Fire Chief Thad Olsen.

The fire district sent two engines and two water tenders, while the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire District sent a mutual-aid engine to assist, Olsen said. He noted that the two neighboring fire departments have been working on improved interoperability and that it has “proven to be very effective.”

Crews arrived to find the living room and kitchen contents on fire, though the fire hadn’t spread to the structure. The homeowners had just left for work, the fire chief said.

Crews conducted a primary search, finding no one inside, as they knocked down and extinguished the blaze within about 10 minutes, Olsen said. There were reports a dog might have been inside, but the homeowners had taken the dog with them, he said.

Most if not all of the 2,100-square-foot home sustained smoke damage, according to Olsen, who estimated losses at $50,000 to the contents and $40,000 to the structure, which was insured.

The American Red Cross offered services to the homeowners, but they declined, the fire chief said.