by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — A lightning strike to a bunkhouse on Cedar Haven Road near Cobden during a late afternoon storm last Friday set it ablaze. By the time it was put out by Whitewater Region firefighters, there was nothing left.
Don Helferty, who used the bunkhouse as a place for guests to sleep, including his grandchildren, said the building was insured.
Mr. Helferty said he was sitting inside his house waiting for company so they could take the pontoon boat to a friend’s home for a barbecue.
He realized how windy it was getting and looked outside and noticed Andrew Coulas was parked on the road and talking to someone.
“He was quite excited,” Mr. Helferty recalled. “He started pointing to the cottage and when I looked over, it was on fire.
“It was totally destroyed. There’s just clean-up now,” he said Tuesday morning.
There was no damage to the main house, which was near the bunkhouse.
“The wind was blowing the right way, straight across the field,” Mr. Helferty said.
This was not the only call during the past week for the Whitewater Region fire department, said Deputy-Fire Chief Mike Moore.
There were other calls, but none as serious as the bunkhouse fire, he said. Beachburg Road was closed between Fletcher and Foresters Falls roads due to a tree falling across the road knocking down power lines, he said. That portion of the road was closed from about 4 p.m. until 10 p.m.
There was also hay smoking at the Cobden sales barn, he said.
Saturday night shortly after 11 p.m., there were trees on the power lines.
On Monday, there were three calls, Deputy-Fire Chief Moore said. There was a false alarm at Beachburg Public School, trees burning on power lines on the Queens Line (late at night) and an illegal burn on Acres Road. It was illegal for various reasons, including there was a fire ban on, there was no permit issued for the fire and no one was watching it, he said.
“There were none of any serious nature except for the cottage (bunkhouse) fire,” the deputy-fire chief said.
Deputy-Fire Chief Moore reminds residents of Whitewater Region that a permit allowing a fire is required year-round. They are free and can be picked up at the township hall in Cobden or from Vince Gervais in La Passe or Daryl McLaughlin near Foresters Falls.
When a fire ban is on, there are to be no fires, he said – none for cooking, keeping warm or recreation. The only way to cook outdoors is by gas or propane barbecues, he explained.
If people are unsure if they are allowed to burn, signs are now posted on entrance signs to the villages – Haley Station, Beachburg, La Passe, Westmeath, Foresters Falls and Cobden or they can check the municipal website.
