Cause of 2nd fire at La Center site is unknown

Fire investigators said they were unable to determine the cause of a second fire on a rural La Center area property.

Firefighters were called to 37414 N.E. 81st Ave., northeast of La Center, around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a fire — an address that crews had responded to the day prior.

Monday’s fire, reported at 11:20 a.m., had already damaged a manufactured home on the property. A man caused that blaze when he poured fuel in the carburetor of a motor home and then turned the ignition, said Clark County Deputy Fire Marshal Curtis Eavenson.

He was sent to an area hospital with first-degree burns on his arms, Eavenson said. His condition was not available.

The fire spread from the motor home to the manufactured home, destroying the motor home and severely damaging the manufactured home to the point that it was a total loss, Eavenson said.

Tuesday’s fire told a similar story of destruction. The blaze started at the manufactured home and spread to a nearby camping trailer, but this time fire officials say the cause is undetermined.

Eavenson did, however, narrow it down to two possibilities: either a rekindle of the first fire or an intentionally set fire.

“The level of destruction was too great. I was not able to determine one way or the other,” Eavenson said.

The damage total from both fires was about $53,000.