Cause of SLT house fire under investigation
Update: Feb. 20 5:49pm
No official cause has been determined in the Thursday night fire that destroyed a residence in South Lake Tahoe.
“We are curious” is how police Lt. Brian Williams put it to Lake Tahoe News. This is because police are “familiar” with the man who sustained severe burns to his face and hands. The name of the victim has not been released. He is being treated at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
While the initial call came in as drug lab explosion, officers now do not believe that is the case.
Fire Chief Jeff Meston told Lake Tahoe News that the occupant told first responders that he used the gas stove to light a cigarette, he walked away and something on or near the stove ignited.
Liberty Utilities did not find any leaks in the system or with the appliances, according to Meston.
The police department is in charge of the investigation of the fire at the two-story house on William Avenue that started about 9:30pm Feb. 19.
The six people who were living in the two-unit structure are not able to do so now because of the amount of damage. The upstairs is considered a total loss by the fire department, while the lower unit sustained considerable water damage. The property loss is estimated at $350,000.
Also injured was a firefighter. He was treated for smoke inhalation.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
Butane Honey Oil is bad news. It’s explosive to make and toxic to use. Ice hash and CO2 extracts are far better. Don’t use butane and avoid those who do.
I heard the sirens in Sierra tract. Another drug house goes up in flames. I’m glad the fire dept. was able to keep the flames from spreading to neighboring homes.
I wish there was a way to stop this madness! OLS
I’m interested in where you heard BHO is toxic to use, Steve. My research indicates butane is not a carcinogen and that it is only toxic at extremely high concentrations that are not encountered in BHO.
and the OWNER’s responsibility-accountability for this is ?
City councils action on this will make great strides in reducing these types of dumps in our neighborhoods.
Idiots!
This is not an isolated incident. I have been in many homes in South Lake Tahoe and have seen the bongs and butane bottles. At first I thought the butane was being used to make meth, but when I asked what the butane was for I was informed it was to make hash oil from the residue in the bongs and pipes. It’s important that landlord’s and property managers know who they are renting their property to. This fire could have been much worse. I pray that the person burned will have a speedy recovery.
Yesterday I was hiking down at Horsethief Canyon (on HWY 88/89 just down the road from Sorenson’s) and found at the trailhead behind a large boulder a sizable cache of emptied butane canisters. I couldn’t figure out what they were used for but I assumed it was related to drugs or some sort of hazmat situation. When I got home I did a quick Google search and discovered that it’s also used in making hash oil, so I reported it to the Alpine County Sheriff and they went out to investigate. Interesting that both incidents occurred on the same day.
Don’t the insects using Meth utilize these as well because it’s a hotter flame?
Musical hairs, it seems the danger of using the butane is when the whole operation explodes, and possible innocent neighbors loose their property or their lives. Keep the growers and druggies out of our neighborhoods.
Nature, the sad truth is that we probably won’t ever be able to get these scumbags out of our neighborhoods. After all, we’ve been trying for years and made little progress. So sad and stupid that people want to ruin their lives with drugs, and endanger the people around them with their illegal operations.
Glad you aren’t my TahoeMom. Name calling, now that’s a good trait. Not letting people fix their mistakes, another good trait. And what possible vendetta would this publication have and against whom?
I posted that right before the update, and deleted it as soon as I saw the change. The frustration is that in the interest of rapidly posting articles, due diligence doesn’t seem to be happening here. I’m not fond of some of the population here in Tahoe, but I still make sure I know the facts regarding my decisions. There seem to be an awful lot of articles designed simply to elicit nasty comments. Click-bait. I’d just like to see a little more effort going into the process, a phone call to the authorities would have probably been sufficient here. I just don’t see any of the valid growers flocking to grab permits if we keep judging all “stoners” as the same. Only way to make our neighborhoods safer is by working together, and this publication just seems hell bent on pitting everyone against each other for the sake of their advertising.
I know I’ll come off as sounding like some clueless old fogey, but whats the deal with butane? I remember it being used years ago in old cigarette lighters but beyond that, what’s it being used for now?
I hope this was not another drug house related incident. Fires, mold, the smell , people coming and going at 3 am. We’ve got plenty of those already! OLS
“There seem to be an awful lot of articles designed simply to elicit nasty comments” TahoeMom, I don’t agree with some of your views, but I think you couldn’t be more right on this one. I wish the stories weren’t so politically, emotionally, and religiously charged. Just give us the facts, and leave it to us to interpret them!
OLS, try this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane#Uses
Butane is still used in cigarette lighters.
Growing “medicinal” pot isn’t enough, so start cookin’ honey oil too.
If it was caused by a lab, it’s a good thing the Girl Scouts (or others) were going door to door when the house blew up.
?!?, Thank you for the link. I know much more about butane than I ever did before. Which was nothing.
I guess they spray it on pot? Or who knows?
The government used to spray this chemical called paraquat ( at least that’s what I think it was called) on pot fields to kill the plants and it also made alot of people sick who smoked the sprayed weed.
I see the drug problem here on So. Shore getting worse. Too many people on crank, heroin,pain pills…you name it! I hope things get better. OLS
I try my best to see both sides of the story. I ride the bus two or three times a year and enjoy taking to the folks at the LTSLT during their open house in the summer.
Last summer I attended the 420 celebration at the Swiss Chalet parking lot.
When I toured the glass blowing booths they all seemed to be making and selling the pipes for smoking oil.
I have had friends give me some of the new medical pot and don’t understand the need to make it more powerful. Just take another hit and wait ten minutes for Christ sake. No need to risk blowing-up the neighborhood.
What could have ignited that the homeowner couldn’t put it out immediately?