Fire destroys 127-year-old home

The house sits on property owned by the Hammond Ranch at 41173 Dry Gulch Road about a mile west of Richland, said Dave Kingsbury, Eagle Valley Rural Fire District chief. His department was dispatched to the blaze at 11:33 p.m. Saturday.

The house was engulfed by flames when firefighters arrived, Kingsbury said.

The Hammond family of Boswell, Okla., who moved from the Richland area about two years ago, owns the house, he said.

Mib and Jacque Dailey were planning to rent the house, which has stood vacant since the Hammonds moved. The Daileys had begun moving their belongings in, but were not at the house when the fire started, Kingsbury said.

Although the firefighters were unable to save the house, they protected the outbuildings and extinguished fire that spread to the west wall of the garage, the fire chief said. The cause of the fire had not been determined today and Kingsbury had no estimate of the loss.

Fifteen firefighters spent four hours at the scene. That included eight from the Eagle Valley district, four from Keating and three from the Pine Valley Rural Fire District, Kingsbury said. They used two engines and two tenders in the firefighting effort. An Eagle Valley ambulance also was dispatched to the scene.

The volunteers finished up and returned to their stations about 2:30 a.m.

There were no injuries, and Kingsbury said he knew of no animals that were threatened by the fire.