Fire damages vacation rental duplex in Guerneville

Fire caused nearly $500,000 in damage to a two-unit vacation rental in Guerneville, Russian River Fire Protection District officials said.

The 5:30 a.m. Thursday fire started in a first-floor garage and spread to the second-floor units, Capt. Ryan Lantz said. Fire investigators haven’t determined how the fire started.

No one was renting the vacation home at the time of the fire, and the building was secure with no signs anyone had illegally entered the building, located just west of Guerneville on Highway 116, Lantz said.

When the first fire crew arrived, smoke was coming from both downstair garages and the eaves. Lantz walked around the building to the rear and saw heavy fire in the second story.

The bulk of the damage was in one of the two units, but most of the building had some level of smoke or water damage, Lantz said. The fire left the building uninhabitable.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.