80-year-old Pass Road home ruined in fire

A more than 80-year-old home in western Sutter County is in ruins after a large fire ravaged it Sunday.

The Sutter County Fire Department responded shortly after 12:05 p.m. to a blaze that broke out at the wood-shingled two-story house in the 8800 block of Pass Road, near the town of Sutter.

Flames rapidly spread to both floors, completely charring its front facade, heavily damaging the rear, and creating a 70-foot-tall smoke column that billowed thickly enough to hide the house from the road.

"It's tough to see the house you grew up in go up in smoke — especially the kind of house they don't build anymore," Justin Daddow of Yuba City said as he watched firefighters hose down the flames consuming his childhood home. "Not a fun sight to see."

Neither Daddow's mother, Patricia, nor anyone else was inside when the fire erupted, and no injuries were reported, according to Fire Chief Dan Yager.

Although the first fire crew arrived within four minutes and contained the flames in about an hour, the home's older style of construction — lath, plaster and wallboard — helped the flames to spread rapidly, Yager said. The entire second floor already was engulfed when firemen arrived, and flames weakened both floors and collapsed part of the roof.

Nearly 40 firefighters from the Sutter County, Meridian and Sacramento River districts battled the blaze.

The fire's cause remained unknown Sunday evening. Lingering smoke and structural damage could rule out a closer look at the home's remains until today, though Yager doubted whether the home could be salvaged.

"There's not one portion of the house that's not affected by fire, smoke or heat," he said.

Another house fire was reported Sunday night in the 1300 block of Phillips Road in Yuba City. Firefighters were called to the scene, but further details were not available.