A fire that started about 10 p.m. on the Fourth of July severely damaged a small house on a private driveway off Diamond Ridge Road. Kachemak Emergency Services and Homer Volunteer Fire Department firefighters had to string at least 500 feet of hose down a gravel driveway to get to the fire. About 20 firefighters from both departments responded, as did an Alaska State Trooper.

Firefighters had to break locks on the home to get access, and the house appeared to be unoccupied. The home is at the bottom of a narrow driveway west of Heather Street on Diamond Ridge and past the KGTL radio station. The radio station was well away from the fire and not threatened. Smoke drifted to the northwest in the sparsely settled area.

Flames shot out of the top of a metal roof on the two-story structure with a large garage on the bottom floor and living quarters upstairs. The fire appeared to be concentrated in the upper floor. By 11:30 p.m. firefighters had kept the fire from spreading to the bottom floor, but still worked to stop the fire on the upper floor. Sheds and other buildings nearby were not damaged.

A fire engine from Kachemak Emergency Services was at the bottom of the driveway near the house. More tankers and engines from both departments were parked on Diamond Ridge. Firefighters had set up a portable water tank near the fire to store extra water. Kachemak Emergency Services has a 10,000-gallon reserve water tank at the corner of Diamond Ridge Road and the Sterling Highway.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.