Rutherford house destroyed in early Sunday fire

An unoccupied house in Rutherford was destroyed early Sunday in a fire that took just under an hour to contain, officials said.

The Cal-Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit responded just before 2 a.m. to a report of a residential fire on Manley Lane, near St. Helena Highway, according to a department news release.

Firefighters arrived and found a two-story home engulfed in flames that were in danger of spreading to an older tank house and a garage.

It is unknown how long the fire was burning before firefighters were alerted, said Cal Fire spokesperson Jason Clay.

The crew, which included six engines, three water tenders and a ladder truck, worked to keep the fire contained and knocked down the flames about 45 minutes after the first truck arrived.

No injuries were reported following the fire at the unoccupied household.

Firefighters were expected to be on scene extinguishing hot spots throughout Sunday morning.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

The St. Helena Fire Department assisted in putting out the flames.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X, formerly Twitter, @madi.smals.