LAKE JAMES – Neighbors watched in disbelief early Saturday as fire destroyed five homes and damaged three others on Lake James.
No one was injured in the blaze that caused more than $6 million in damages.
Firefighters were called Friday just before midnight. The fire spread to eight homes and two garages. The cause is under investigation, and fire officials have not determined whether foul play is suspected.
Longtime residents of the northern Steuben County lake community said they couldn’t believe what they saw.
Sharon Kensill was asleep when her husband, Chuck, woke her up early Saturday and pointed outside. Across the lake, an inferno was gaining momentum. The couple called 911.
“We just watched all of those homes go; … all in a row they went,” she said. “It was incredible.”
The couple have lived on Feicks Point for about 20 years.
“We had a bird’s-eye view of them,” Sharon Kensill said.
A pile of charred rubble is all that remained of some of the homes and garages. Several surrounding homes sustained heat damage to vinyl siding.
Steuben County sheriff’s deputies said they would not leave until at least Monday as the cleanup and investigation continues.
Angola Fire Department spokesman T.R. Hagerty said the department and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security are conducting a joint investigation.
The fire started at a home at 1900 Lane 105 and spread to the other buildings just southwest of Pokagon State Park.
At least one of the homes was occupied at the time, but its residents escaped unharmed, deputies said.
Nearly 30 fire departments from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan assisted Angola firefighters in handling the blaze and other area fire calls during that time. Those departments included ones in Steuben, LaGrange, Noble, DeKalb and Allen counties.
One firefighter was injured by stepping on a nail, Hagerty said. That firefighter was treated at the scene.
A narrow one-lane road between Pokagon State Park and the homes proved to be tricky maneuvering for the firefighters. An Angola fire engine was damaged by the fire but is still in use, Hagerty said.
“It got some pretty significant heat to it,” he said. “There was no way around it.”
Firefighters used defensive tactics to stop the blaze from spreading to the neighboring homes, Hagerty said.
“They put themselves between the fire and the next home,” he said.
Neighbor Jeff Buchanan was alerted to the blaze after he saw fire engine after fire engine come down the narrow road. He, along with more than a dozen boaters on the lake, came closer to the blaze to watch the fire’s fury.
Strong winds helped spread the fire from one home to another, he said. The lots for each home are 50 feet wide, according to Buchanan, 45, who has lived along Lake James his entire life.
“The flames were higher than the trees,” he said. “It was unbelievable. I was just mesmerized watching it. It was probably the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”
According to Buchanan, at least one of the destroyed homes was occupied year-round. Other homes affected by the fire are used seasonally.
Volunteers with the Northeast Indiana chapter of the American Red Cross provided snacks and refreshments to more than 200 firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers at the scene, according to spokesperson Amanda Banks.
Those volunteers served breakfast to 75 people still at the scene Saturday morning, she said.
Firefighters estimate the damage to be between $6 million and $8 million.
Angola firefighters returned to the scene Saturday afternoon to extinguish smoldering debris, and Hagerty said fire investigators are expected to return to the scene Monday.
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. employees worked Saturday to repair damaged power lines where the homes once stood.
