A multi-alarm fire on Monday afternoon, Feb. 27 virtually destroyed a 4,700-plus square foot custom home, with crews arriving on scene to find the fire already impacting multiple areas of the house at 7130 River Road in Oakdale.

“SCFPD was dispatched to a working structure fire on the 7100 block of River Road in Oakdale at 12:07 p.m.,” said Carissa Higginbotham, deputy public information officer for Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District. “Upon arrival, the roof of the large home had already collapsed. Fortunately, no one was inside the home.”

She added that firefighters on scene went into defensive mode and were “focusing efforts on salvaging the contents of the home” as much as possible. Crews were on scene for several hours.

“Resources and personnel from Salida, Modesto, Escalon and Ceres Fire were all assisting in the efforts and station coverage,” Higginbotham said.

The Stanislaus County Fire Investigation Unit was on scene and investigating the cause of the fire, which was believed to be electrical in nature and appeared to have started in the attic.

A portion of River Road was closed during the fire suppression effort. There were no reported injuries on scene.

The home, listed as a four bedroom, four bath single family residence, is known as ‘Erwinshire’ and in years past had served as a wedding venue.