Fire investigators are working to determine what caused the blaze that destroyed a North Vancouver heritage home early Saturday morning.
Crews were called to the Canyon Heights neighbourhood around 1:30 a.m. when someone reported the smell of smoke. Firefighters traced the source to a three-storey log home deep in the woods at the very top of Skyline Drive.
“It was fully engulfed when our crews arrived on scene,” said assistant fire chief Jason De Roy.
Crews spent much of Saturday knocking down the flames and putting out hot spots. Because of its isolated location and steep topography, crews had to connect three strategically placed trucks together in a relay to pump water up to the site.
With the home already a write-off when they arrived, firefighters’s efforts were mainly spent preventing the fire from spreading, De Roy said.
“Luckily, this time of year with the wet season, it wasn’t too bad. We did have some trees that received charring but the district arborist came out to inspect them and they were deemed to not be a threat,” he said. “It could have been a different situation if this was in the peak of the summer with dryer conditions and higher fire ratings. It definitely would have been a different story.”
The two owners were out of the country at the time of the fire and there were no injuries, De Roy said.
De Roy said Monday that the investigation is still in its early stages and there is no indication of what started the fire, but so far, the it does not appear suspicious.
The log structure was built in 1948 as the Bavarian Arms Café, which served the skiers who rode the nearby chairlift up Grouse Mountain. When the chairlift was later replaced in the 1950s, the building was converted to a private home.
It was added to the District of North Vancouver’s heritage registry in the 1990s.
“Set in a forest of mature evergreens, it presents the very picture of appropriate rustic vernacular. It was built with honestly-expressed natural materials, including a rock foundation and smooth-peeled logs. The gambrel roof has a bellcast flare at the edges, and is carried on an interior log truss structure,” the registry reads.
