House lost in Montrose fire

March 04-- Mar. 4--MONTROSE -- A Montrose house was declared a complete loss after responders fought a fire for nearly eight hours on Sunday.

The Montrose, Salem and Humboldt fire departments responded to the house at the intersection of First Avenue and Kluckhohn Street shortly before 12:30 p.m., after receiving a call from someone passing by. No one was inside the house at the time of the fire.

According to Montrose Fire Chief Brian Smith, firefighters arrived to see a significant amount of smoke coming from the house's attic, which could not easily be accessed.

Around 40 people worked to put out the fire over eight hours, and weather made that more difficult.

"Everything was working against us," Smith told The Daily Republic on Monday.

Smith said that the cause of the fire has not been determined, but that it does not appear to be suspicious and investigation has been turned over to an insurance company.

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