An investigation into the cause of a fire that left a mid-valley family homeless earlier this week has traced the blaze's probable cause to the log home's main breaker box.
"We found melting of the metal from the inside out on that breaker box," Wood River Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Bart Lassman said Wednesday.
The family of Jonathan and Katherine Nasvik was left homeless Monday after the hard-to-fight fire burned for nearly 20 hours through their two-story residence located in the Zinc Spur neighborhood north of Hailey.
Firefighters said the fire was difficult to fight because it quickly moved into the roof of the house. The roof was composed of large synthetic blocks of insulation attached to pieces of plywood fixed under wooden shake shingles. Because it was unsafe to station firefighters on the roof, crews were forced to "chase" the flames from awkward angles, Lassman said.
Numerous water tenders were called in to help with the effort because the Zinc Spur subdivision does not have a network of pressurized water hydrants. Lassman said one 10,000-gallon cistern nearby was quickly emptied.
He said estimated cost of damage to the home is tabbed at $2.7 million.
"It was a total loss," he said.
Lassman was assisted in the fire scene investigation by an insurance investigator and an Idaho deputy state fire marshal, Ivan Hebert. Fire insurance investigators have removed the damaged breaker box so they can further investigate if "equipment failure" did in fact cause the blaze, Lassman said.
"They're going to have to do testing," he said.
Lassman said evidence suggests that the breaker box melted before the fire began burning.
Wood River crews were dispatched to fight the Zinc Spur fire at about 4:45 p.m. Sunday. It was declared extinguished at noon Monday.
Only one injury was sustained in the blaze, a minor injury to a firefighter who slipped while at the scene. The Nasvik family was not home when the fire started.
"They're doing really well," said Julie Lynn, a friend of the family who is helping them recover. "They've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of help."
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
Donations for the Nasvik family
Katie Nasvik says she is "blown away" by the outpouring of help, but she said Thursday the family is "doing OK" and they are not in any dire position. But, for those who want to help, The Toy Store in Ketchum is accepting monetary donations to help the family. Carol Knight of the Toy Store said people can drop off monetary donations between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. The store is located at 4th and Washington Streets in Ketchum. Julie Lynn is coordinating non-monetary donations. To contact her, write to jaceylynn@cox.net.
