Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Friday, January 18, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - A spectacular fire -- visible throughout much of the city -- completely destroyed a downtown home Thursday night.

"It began in the basement in a mechanical room like a furnace or hot water heater area," said deputy fire chief Merlin Klassen, adding that the Yellowknife Fire Department had not pinned down the exact cause of the fire yet to the single-storey home on 53rd St.

The department received a call about the fire at 9 p.m., said Klassen.

Firefighters directed hoses of water onto  the sides of the house to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring homes.

One house on the street was evacuated for a short time due heavy smoke and the potential for the fire to spread but he said the risk was not high, and evacuated neighbours were able to return to their home by the next morning.

Fire crews were on the scene until 8:30 Friday morning.

The occupants of the house were a Yellowknife couple, one of whom was away on a business trip at the time of the fire, said Klassen. The other was out for the evening.

The initial damage estimate of the fire is approximately $300,000.