Fire guts garage of East Valley home; home appears untouched

Gardnerville - A fire Tuesday afternoon gutted the garage of an East Valley home.

The residents were home at 1768 Watson Court when the fire started in their garage at approximately 3 p.m., according to East Fork Fire Chief Tod Carlini.

No one was injured, and the nearly 5,000-square-foot home appeared to be untouched by the fire, he said.

The semi-attached garage, connected to the house by a roof over a breezeway, was in flames upon the arrival of the fire department, Carlini said.

Four fire engines, three water tenders and at least 40 East Fork firefighters and paramedics were at the scene, along with Ranchos Fire and Rescue paramedics and the Douglas County Sheriff's Department.

"This area doesn't have fire hydrants, so we are pumping water from the trucks," said Carlini.

As of 4:50 p.m., Carlini said there was no determination of the cause yet.

"We secured the utilities," he said. "Now it will probably be a couple of hours of overhaul and investigation."

According to the Douglas County Assessor's Web site, the 4,457-square-foot home built in 2003 is owned by David and Leesa Malm.