2-Alarm Fire Rips Through Large Granite Bay Mansion Under Construction

GRANITE BAY (CBS13) –A two-alarm fire ripped through a large home under construction in Granite Bay early Wednesday morning.

Crews say the fire spread to the attic of the home on Cavitt Ranch Place off Sierra College Boulevard.

Flames shot from the roof of the 8,000 square-foot mansion as neighbor John Monaco woke up to the sound of his dog barking.

"All of a sudden I hear my dog Chet howling," he said. "He's a great dog, he's really observant; he's really looking out for me."

The mansion was no easy firefight.

"The size and the difficulty fighting the fire, we think it's over 8,000 square feet, which makes it difficult for firefighter accountability, a lot of smoke inside," South Placer Fire Chief Lawrence Bettencourt said.

South Placer Fire tells CBS13 that when the first crew arrived on scene, flames were visible from the kitchen but quickly spread to the first floor ceiling, then ran up the wall and into the attic.

"It's not common, but it's happened," Bettencourt said of fires at houses under construction, explaining that sometimes workers on site accidentally trigger the fire.

The fire was contained to just that mansion. It did not spread to the open fields out on to Sierra College Boulevard.

Investigators aren't sure what caused the fire. No one was inside when the flames were reported.