Klamath Falls, Ore. – Neighbor Michael Rice says he first noticed the fire at around 4:30 Saturday morning…
“I just looked in my rearview mirror, and the smoke was boiling down through here.”
Rice ran up Wilford Avenue to Fulton Street to see if anyone was in the home…
“By that time, the north side of the house was just engulfed with flames – went around the side of the house yelling and banging on the doors.”
Fire Chief John Spradley of Klamath County Fire District #1: “Initial crews arrived on scene to a two story home that was fairly heavily involved in fire.”
Chief Spradley notes that it’s not clear just what sparked the fire…
“We have reports that this home was a vacant home. At this point we’re just safely trying to put this fire out.”
While the home had been vacant, Spradley says fire crews haven’t been able to determined if anyone was inside…
“We’re going to bring in some mechanical equipment to help remove pieces of the house to make it structurally safe, and then we’ll do a full search.”
No dollar estimate of damage has been made.
KOTI-TV NBC2 reporter Lyle Ahrens moved from Nebraska to Klamath Falls in the late 1970’s. He instantly fell in love with the mountains, the trees and the rivers, and never once regretted the move.Lyle’s job history is quite colorful.
He’s managed a pizza parlor; he’s been a bartender, and a “kiwifruit grader” at an organic orchard in New Zealand. A Klamath Falls radio station hired Lyle in the mid 90’s as a news writer and commercial producer. In 2004, Lyle joined the KOTI/KOBI news operation.Lyle notes with pride that he has a big responsibility presenting the Klamath Basin to a wide and varied audience.
“The on-going water crisis has underscored the fact that the people and the issues in the Klamath Basin are every bit as diverse as the terrain. Winning and keeping the trust of the viewers, as well as the newsmakers, is something I strive for with each story”.
When he’s not busy reporting the news, Lyle enjoys astronomy, playing guitar, fixing old radios and listening to anything by Sheryl Crow.
