NORTH FORK – A fire this morning in North Fork completely destroyed the home of Steve and Pam Payne on De Na Lane.
The Paynes, who used to own the Mountain House Restaurant, live on the property along with Pam’s mother Victoria Monson. There are two homes on the parcel, and Victoria’s home survived intact, while Pam and Steve’s was a total loss.
“They’ve lost everything,” said Victoria as she watched the house go up in flames. “All their photos and memories, those things you can never replace.”
Victoria was thankful that they had insurance, but noted that since the property was purchased in 2005, the home is not worth what they paid for it anymore.
Pam speculates that the fire may have been started by a space heater on the screened-in back porch.
There were five cats living in that area, and unfortunately all of them perished in the blaze.
Pam suffered second degree burns to her hands and face, and some of her hair was singed off in her attempt to rescue the animals from the home. She was able to save the dogs, though it took some time to find them all.
The Chevy Blazer parked in the carport was saved by firefighters knocking down the flames. They attempted to move the vehicle out of the carport, but the keys were in the burning house and the steering and transmission couldn’t be unlocked without them.
Sierra Ambulance arrived on the scene to treat Pam’s injuries, and after initially declining to seek medical treatment at a hospital, Pam agreed to be transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.
