The cause of a house fire at 30334 Butte Creek Rd. on Nov. 8 will remain undetermined because the blaze burned the two-story structure so completely.

"The only thing left is the foundation," said Fire Prevention Specialist Jon Davis of the Lebanon Fire District.

Shortly before 12:30 a.m., owner George Gali woke up to the sound of a smoke detector, went downstairs to investigate, saw smoke and went to a nearby home to call 911, Davis said. No one else was in the home.

The house sits at the top of a hill, up a long driveway starting from a cul-de-sac off Butte Creek Road southwest of Lebanon.

The first fire engine to the scene was unable to get up the unimproved gravel driveway, slick with wet leaves, to the home. The two-wheel drive truck slid off into mud along side the road. Capt. Tim Moore got out of the truck and walked up the road, then called for two four-wheel drive engines, one from Lebanon and one from Brownsville. He continued up the driveway to the house, which he found 70 percent involved in flames.

The Lebanon four-wheel drive engine fought the fire defensively with water from its 750-gallon tank and the tank on the Brownsville engine. Shortly after they began to apply water, the house collapsed. The fire was contained to the footprint of the building.

The fire did not threaten other homes in the area. The night was damp and the closest house is at least 300 feet away, Davis said.

The debris was still smoldering the next day when investigators tried to find a cause.

On their exit the four-wheel drive trucks hooked onto the stuck engine and pulled it out.

Homeowners living outside the city should build driveways to an appropriate standard for fire engines and maintain them, to be sure a fire vehicles can get through to their house.

Driveways should have a 20-foot width clear of branches and other impediments, though the road surface needn't be 20-feet wide, and a 13-foot vertical clearance. The grade should not be too steep and the roadway should be kept graveled. The turning radius of corners should not be too sharp.

The Lebanon Fire District website, www.lebanonfire.org, has more information for homeowners in rural areas. On the home page, click on Fire Code App. Guide on the lower right to bring up a pdf. Regulations for roads and driveways are on pages 5 and 6.