A fire broke out in an abandoned house on Cowichan Lake Road early on Monday morning. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

A fire broke out in an abandoned house on Cowichan Lake Road early on Monday morning. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

UPDATE: Cause of fire at Berkey’s Corner hard to establish

Bystanders said structure was abandoned

Flames destroyed a house on Cowichan Lake Road near Berkey’s Corner just after midnight on Monday.

Firefighters from North Cowichan’s South End hall were on scene quickly and, with three fire trucks, had the flames under control within an hour after arriving .

They remained on site until just after 1 a.m.

Mike Dunn, a fire investigator with the Municipality of North Cowichan said the house was abandoned, and had been for about two years.

He said there was no one in the house when fire crews arrived.

“While the walls were still standing, the roof and the interior were completely destroyed by fire,” Dunn said.

“The cause of the fire is hard to determine because the fire was too intense and destroyed whatever evidence there was. It was an intense fire.”

Cowichan Valley Citizen