By Tove Tupper & Faris Tanyos
 
December 4, 2008
 
MEDFORD, Ore. -- Investigators say the cause of a fire that burned down a historic farmhouse early Thursday morning on the Voorhies Mansion property was likely human-caused.
 
The fire occurred at 2400 Voorhies Road, about a quarter mile from where another fire burned down Mr. Thom's Resort and Salon this summer.
 
Officials say thick early morning fog in the Rogue Valley made the fire difficult to identify. They estimate the 158-year-old house was burning undetected for 30 to 60 minutes before they received the call before 5 a.m.
 
"Just because the smoke blends in with the fog, it had time to really get going inside the structure. And there's not a lot of traffic that early in the morning on Voorheis," says Medford Fire Inspector John Patterson.
 
When crews arrived on scene, the building was engulfed in flames, and the back half of the house was burned completely to the ground.
 
"Because of the extent of the burn, and the fact that it was way ahead of any of our units before we got here, there wasn't a whole lot of reconstruction that could be done," says Patterson.
 
The nearest fire hydrant is about a half mile away, so firefighters had to shuttle back and forth all morning to get water.
 
Eden Valley Orchards used the farmhouse as storage for decorations and furniture. No one was living in the house, and the building was boarded up. There was electricity running to the building, but investigators are unsure if electricity was being used in it. Eden Valley Orchards has reported people trespassing on its property and the house in the past.
 
"If somebody was cold last night, and they knew they could get into a building, maybe I would, to get out of the weather, get out of the fog," says Patterson.
 
The house was built in 1850, and has been registered as national historic place since 2000.
 
Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call 541-774-2300.