A fiery week in South County

Photo by Paul Robeson, Reporter

BRINGING WATER: Volunteer Firefighter Joel Covert of the Anderson Fire District brings a water line around a Lloyd Lane house that burned on April 17. Firefighters from Anderson, Redding, Shasta County, Happy Valley and CDF fought the blaze that eventually destroyed the house. Two dogs died in the fire.

Photo by Paul Robeson, Reporter

SMOKE FROM ROOF: Interim Fire Chief Roy Del Carlo talks to Fire Captain Phil McNeal as they check the source of the smoke from the Burger King on North Street on Thursday. The smoke was from an electrical motor on the roof.

Photo by Michael Woodward, Reporter

HOUSE FIRE: Anderson Fire Fighters water down a blaze at a small residence on Dupont Street in Anderson. The structure was destroyed and one man was injured.

South County skies were darkened by four structure fires last week. An early morning fire in Cottonwood on April 17 was followed by a fire that afternoon in the Verde Vale area. Two more fires occurred on April 19, one at the Burger King on North Street in Anderson and the second at a building near Dan Gamel’s RV property.

Early morning fire in Cottonwood

Quick thinking saved a new house from fire. Ed Mehrer Sr. of Cottonwood went over to check on his son’s new home in the White Oaks Ranches off of Gas Point Road. His son Ed Jr., who lives in Tracy, had hoped the new home on Condor Way would be “finalized” and he and his wife Lori would soon be moving into their dream house.

But to Ed Sr.’s surprise when he came up to the house, just before 8 a.m. on April 17, he saw smoke coming out from under the garage door. He raised the door a little and the smoke poured out. He quickly closed the door, ran across the street and asked a neighbor to call 9-1-1.

Engines from the Cottonwood Fire Protection District and CDF quickly responded and extinguished the sparking fire under a water heater in the garage.

The heater was believed to have had poor ventilation and slowly simmered until the large amount of smoke emerged. The damage was confined to the water heater area of the garage.

Lloyd Lane house destroyed

Firefighters responded to a fire that engulfed an occupied house on Lloyd Lane near Happy Valley Road, off Highway 273, on Tuesday afternoon April 17.

The fire destroyed the 2,100-square-foot home causing an estimated $220,000 in damage. The 2:11 p.m. fire was blamed on an electrical problem and was battled by firefighters from Anderson, Redding, Shasta County, Happy Valley and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Seven people lived at the house, but no one was injured. Two dogs died in the fire. The investigation is being handled by the Shasta County Fire Department and as of April 23, was still ongoing.

Smoke billows from fast food building

Firefighters were dispatched to the Burger King on North Street in Anderson at 11:16 a.m. on Thursday, April 19, when