Vacation home lost in Windermere Oaks fire

BY ALEXANDRIA RANDOLPH/HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

A vacation home in Windermere Oaks was deemed “a total loss” after it reportedly caught fire by lightening strike.

Spicewood Volunteer Firefighter Craig Schlike said first responders believe the home in the 300 block of Coventry Road was struck by lightening during storms in the early morning hours of Friday, May 27. The home was uninhabited, Schlike said, adding that the owners reside in San Antonio and keep the house as a weekend home.

“It was totally involved when we got there,” Schlike said.

Firefighters arrived at 2:16 a.m. that morning after receiving a call from a homeowner across the lake who saw the flames. Schlicke said the home had been burning for some time before first responders arrived.

“Our first attack was to save the house next door,” which had also caught fire due to proximity, he said.

Responders from Pedernales Fire Department, Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department, Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department, and Horseshoe Bay Fire Rescue also responded to put out the blaze, and Marble Falls Area EMS responded to support the effort.

“It was a total loss,” Schlicke said. “It was about 3,000 square-feet. The whole back and front was on fire when we got there. The roof was already caved in.”

Schlicke said with the angle of terrain the house sat on, firefighters could only fight the fire at the front and the sides.

“The back of it was a straight hill,” he said. “It was beyond saving… We went through 24,000 gallons of water and 20,000 gallons of (fire suppression) foam.”

First responders had the fire completely out by 7 a.m.

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.