Historic Kirkland log home destroyed by fire early Tuesday

An intense fire that destroyed a historic Kirkland home early Tuesday morning was accidentally sparked by electrical problems in a wall around a dryer, investigators said this afternoon.

The house is considered a total loss, Travis DeFries, a King County sheriff's deputy.

Resident Clancy Donlin said he was sleeping in a recliner about 3:30 a.m. when he heard a loud bang like a shotgun blast. He went to the back of the house and saw a light in his bathroom. When he opened the door, he saw flames. He went outside and tried to find a hose, then called the fire department.

"It was surreal," Donlin said. "It was like someone taking a movie of you."

His mother, Patricia Donlin of Port Angeles, owns the house and lived in it for 43 years. The log house, at 8802 N.E. 117th Place, was built in 1936 and was the first house on Goat Hill in the Juanita area.

"It's gone," Patricia Donlin said. "We had a lot of memories there."

She said she's particularly saddened by the loss of a door frame where all of her grandchildren's heights had been recorded over the years. All her son's pictures were also burned up.

Clancy Donlin, who was alone in the house, was not hurt. His daughter, who also lived in the house, was not at home at the time.

Joe Sanford, battalion chief for the Kirkland Fire Department, said 22 firefighters responded to the fire, but firefighting efforts were hampered by live electrical lines that had fallen near the house.