Two women were rescued last Friday from a structure fire that was seen from as far away as Port Angeles.

The home at 20 Thornton Drive that overlooks the Dungeness Spit was declared a complete loss on Oct. 27, said Clallam County Fire District 3 fire officials.

Fire crews responded to the structure fire around 12:50 p.m. at the intersection of Marine Drive and Thornton Drive where they discovered the one-story home fully involved in fire.

Assistant Chief Dan Orr said the 95-year-old homeowner Dorothy Saxton and her daughter Donna Huizinga were taken from the fire by electricians working nearby.

Saxton was transported to Olympic Medical Hospital and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She remains in serious condition as of Oct. 31.

Huizinga was treated on scene for smoke inhalation and later transported to Olympic Medical Center and discharged by Saturday.

Three of six animals, cats and dogs, were saved from the fire, Orr said, but he didn’t know which animals were saved specifically.

Orr said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental and started in the back corner of the home in the laundry room.

“More work needs to be completed before an exact cause can be determined,” he said.

“The insurance company seized control of the scene and is putting out notices to all of those potentially involved (such as appliance manufactures and contractors on the home). In the next couple of weeks, all of the parties’ investigators will meet and go through the fire scene together to determine exact cause.”

Orr said the home was an older log cabin that’s been added to several times.

Firefighters with Clallam County Fire District 3 hose down the front of a home at 20 Thornton Drive on Oct. 27. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Smoke fills the sky from a house fire at 20 Thornton Drive on Friday, Oct. 27. People reported seeing the smoke from as far away as Port Angeles. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash