Fire spreads across vacant lot, damages house

WIGHTMAN'S GROVE – A Sunday afternoon fire sparked by an unattended fire ring produced minor damage to a nearby Township Road 208 home after the blaze ignited leaves and grass in an adjacent vacant lot and spread to the structure.

Clyde fire Chief Craig Davis said there were no injuries resulting from the fire, which happened about 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon in the backyard of a home in the 2800 block of Township Road 210 and spread to a home in the 2800 block of Township Road 208.

"All it took was one spark for it to get out of the fire ring," Davis said, adding that the fire moved into the ceiling of the damaged home. He estimated the damage at about $10,000 and said the fire was still under investigation.

Neighbors stated that a motorcycle near the unattended fire ring caught on fire, with the vacant lot soon engulfed in flames after the fire started. One neighbor said someone initially put out the yard fire with a garden hose, but then the fire restarted and made its way to the home.

The backyard where the fire started was filled with covered vehicles and assorted equipment.

Dave Wegner, owner of the lot, said he had been fighting with the property owner with the unattended fire ring for three years to clean up his backyard.

Wegner said the property owner burned items in the ring all the time and would not come out of his home when the fire started Sunday.

"This time, it just caught everything on fire," Wegner said.

Davis said he could not confirm the name of the property owner.

The Clyde Fire Department responded to the fire, with assistance provided by the Sandusky Township Fire Department, Sandusky County EMS and Sandusky County Sheriff's Office.

dacarson@gannett.com

419-334-1046

Twitter: @DanielCarson7