CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Sunday afternoon fire at a Clearlake Oaks motel led to the discovery of one body and the displacement of dozens of people who had been living at the property long-term.
The fire at the Lake Haven Motel, located at 100 Short St. just off of Highway 20, was first reported at around 1:30 p.m., and was contained about an hour later, according to radio reports.
Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown, who was the incident commander, confirmed to Lake County News that firefighters found one body, although he could not say at that point if the death was a direct result of the fire.
The circumstances of the individual's death, he said, will be under investigation by members of the Lake County Arson Task Force, led by Lake County Fire Capt. Brice Trask.
In all, two of the motel's units were damaged by the fire, Brown said.
Brown said that when the fire was first dispatched he was at his home, and even from a distance could see the smoke coming from the two-story cinder block motel.
He immediately began bumping up the request for resources from fire agencies around the county.
In addition to Northshore – which had numerous personnel, including Brown and Fire Chief Jay Beristianos – Lake County Fire sent resources including Chief Willie Sapeta, and Cal Fire, Lakeport, Kelseyville and South Lake County Fire all responded, Brown said.
Lake County Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers also responded to help control the scene, where there were displaced residents as well as others who came to see what had happened.
Lakeport Fire set up a ladder truck at the Tower Mart next door, with firefighters going up onto the roof to access the fire.
Initial reports indicated there was one person trapped. It was not immediately clear if the person who was reported trapped was the one who died.
Followup reports stated that the residents had been evacuated. One woman with a walker and an oxygen tank had to be helped from the building.
Brown estimated about 30 people had been displaced, with the building being shut down.
He called Lake County building officials to the scene due to the building's occupancy issues. The building appears to have been used more for long-term housing then for a motel.
Brown said no firefighters had been injured, but didn't have details at that time about whether there had been any additional injuries amongst residents.
Sapeta had the motel residents gather at Tower Mart to speak with them.
People brought with them their pets – primarily dogs and cats, with one young man arriving with a pet snake draped around his neck.
Red Cross responded to the scene to assist with helping to provide housing, according to radio reports.
Deputies arrested one man, 43-year-old Clearlake Oaks resident Juan Alfredo Apodaca, on misdemeanor charges of interfering with firefighters and officers. He was placed into a patrol car and transported from the scene.
Units continued to remain at the scene until the evening, scanner traffic indicated.
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