Lake of the Ozarks mansion considered total loss after fire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one was injured after a home caught fire Wednesday on Trillium Lane, according to a press release from the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District.

The release says firefighters were called at 2:23 p.m. and arriving first-responders saw a home with “heavy fire” coming from the back of the building. The fire “rapidly advanced” because of strong winds, according the release. Wind gusts were around 30-35 miles per hour in the area at the time of the fire, according to the ABC 17 News Stormtrack Weather Team.

Deputy Chief George Creamer said the home is considered a total loss.

Additional fires were caused in the area and two more homes had minor damage, the release says.

The fire at the initial home started on the lower level, but the cause is under investigation, the release says. Both residents at that home were able to get out without being injured, according to the release.

An ABC 17 News reporter on scene saw at least two fire trucks in the area on scene around 5 p.m. and crews working to put out hotspots.

David Loyd said he and his wife live just across the lake in Rocky Mountain, but said the view of his home allows him to see directly toward across the main channel toward where the home caught fire. Loyd said he had just finished editing at home, when he looked outside of his living room and saw what he initially thought was smoke coming from a pile of leaves.

However, Loyd said he quickly realized he was looking at flames coming from the corner of the home, prompting him to yell to his wife to call 911. What happened next happened very quickly, he said.

"The smoke was really dense. The flames had to have been 60-foot high coming out of the side of the house," Loyd said. "The smoke was just so thick it was hard to see if it was just contained to that piece of property or if it was really spreading."

Loyd said within 10 minutes, the back corner of the home was engulfed in flames and said firefighters were on scene minutes later. Loyd said while he doesn't directly know the family involved, hearing stories like this always hit close to home.

"Every once in a while you hear of somebody's lake house or somebody's home catching fire and it always kind of hits home because you know we're all susceptible to accidents or something bad like this happening," Loyd said. "It's just really sad to see something like this happen to anybody. I was just hoping that everybody was safe and no body got hurt. You can always buy another house."

A neighbor in the area told ABC 17 News the window of the home was damaged in the fire, but said the extent of the damage was minor. She said her roof also briefly caught fire but was able to be quickly put out.

Crews remained on scene until around 9 p.m.