A Joshua Tree home burned to the ground Thursday afternoon. Sheriff’s Sergeant Robert Warrick said a resident of the home in the 63600 block of Tilford Way kept oils and paints in his bedroom; due to poor ventilation the fumes combusted just after noon. The man’s mother tried to put out the flames with a garden hose, but was unsuccessful. Black smoke from the fire could be seen for miles. Fire fighters from Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Yucca Mesa arrived to find the home fully involved in flames. Fire fighters kept the fire from spreading to a nearby detached garage and vegetation. County Fire Engineer Dave Faller said a fire hydrant nearby provided limited water pressure, so it took 40 minutes to knock down the blaze. The loss due to the fire is estimated at $150,000. The residents—the mother, two children, and a dog—were all able to escape the home safely despite the fact that neither of the home’s smoke alarms sounded.
