Fire destroys house under construction in La Center

A house under construction in La Center is unlikely to be completed anytime soon due to a destructive fire Thursday morning.

Clark County Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched at 2:12 a.m. to a house on West 13th Street, near the La Center city limits, Divisions Chief Ben Peeler said in an email. The fire department said the house did not have an exact address yet. It was being built near the northwest corner of 13th Street and Aspen Avenue.

“(The house) was a new phase of development in La Center,” the fire department said.

The first fire engine arrived in about seven minutes. The crew found a single-story home “with heavy fire throughout the building,” Peeler said.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to get the blaze under control. Crews stayed at the scene for four hours to ensure the fire was completely extinguished and to assist the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office in investigating the cause.

Three engines, a ladder truck and battalion chief responded to the fire.

Assistant Fire Marshal Curtis Eavenson said the unfinished building was a total loss. The house was just about ready to have sheetrock installed, he said.

The fire is possibly a case of arson, but Eavenson said he was not ready to make that determination.