High winds are believed to have led to a massive cottage blaze in Muskoka Lakes last week.
Fire crews from Minett and Port Carling responded to a call along Lake Joseph in Port Stanfield at around 7:30 p.m. last Tuesday. They arrived to a two-story cottage engulfed in flames, and it took the crews nearly four hours to extinguish the fire.
Three adults and five children managed to escape without injury, but the structure itself was completely destroyed. The damage is estimated at around $600,000.
Investigators believe that a lamp in one of the bedrooms, knocked over by strong winds, is the source of the fire.
