Benton County Sheriff's Office investigators are working to determine what caused a Rogers house to catch fire early Friday (Jan. 3).
The house at 10484 Kays Lane was destroyed in the early morning blaze, but no one was injured, fire officials said. The family was on vacation in Branson, Mo., at the time, officials said.
Avoca Fire Chief Frankie Elliott said it's possible the fire started in the garage.
When crews arrived at the home on 10484 Kays Lane around 4 a.m., they said the house was engulfed in flames.
Gene Myer, who lives nearby, said one of his neighbors woke him up.
"My neighbor was ringing my door bell," Myer said. "I woke up and he said the house is on fire and I looked out my blinds, I opened them up, and it was totally engaged in flames."
Thick smoke billowed from the home while firefighters put out hot spots throughout the morning with temperatures in the teens.
There were some uncertain moments as everyone worried about where the family was.
"First thing I did is that I checked the driveway to make sure there weren't any vehicles in the driveway, and there wasn't so I figured no one was inside," Myer said.
Avoca Fire Chief Frankie Elliot said, "We did a primary and secondary search of the house, and we weren't able to locate anybody, which was a good thing."
Elliot said he tried calling several phone numbers until the homeowner returned his call.
"They saw the house on the news," Elliot said. "I mean it's a total loss and she said, 'We're headed this way from Branson.'"
Elliot said the family was on vacation. He also said the family is covered with homeowners' insurance.
