Fire destroys motor home

By ELAINE SANDMAN

Staff writer

As construction worker and Hall Mountain Volunteer Firefighter Joe Loporto was working on the Highway 95 Copper Creek Bridge, he saw fire," Loporto said.

The fire gutted an Isata RV Motor Coach that was parked at the campground on July 18, no one was inside the motor home at the time of the fire.

"A water truck from the Kiewit Construction company working on the bridge project responded to the scene, and we really appreciated all the help they provided," Lowther said.

The fire was so hot that volunteer firefighters Joe Loporto, Victor Amoth and Matt Chossalman manned the foam hoses for approximately two hours to put it out and keep it out.

During the time Loporto was calling the fire into Hall Mountain dispatch, John Daignault from Cranbrook, British Columbia, was walking by the campground hosts site when he saw a dog tied up near the motor home and jerking terrified at his leash.

Daignault said that when he looked up he saw the fire. "I ran over and got the dog untied, then tried to use a garden hose to get close to a window, but it was just too hot. As I backed from the vehicle, a window blew out, and I called the fire in. It really scared me, I am glad the dog is okay, the owners also have five cats, two which roam around outside. I think I saw them run off, but the other three are probably lost."

Daignault added that he couldn't imagine what caused the fire because when he saw the camp hosts, Claire and Jim France leave at 9 a.m. for a trip to Nelson, British Columbia, everything was fine.

"I wished I'd seen the fire earlier, maybe I could have stopped it," he said.

Those on scene for the fire included Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire, Hall Mountain Support Unit One, Boundary County Ambulance, Forest Service crews and Boundary County Sheriff's deputies.