Firefighters responded to an outbuilding fire on San Juan Island, the night of Monday, June 18.

Reports that an empty structure, similar to a shed, was engulfed in flames at 154 Kanaka Bay Road were made to San Juan Island Fire and Rescue around 9:30 p.m. that evening. The blaze was contained about an hour after reports were received.

Roughly 25 firefighters responded to the scene, and the last unit cleared by 1:51 a.m. San Juan Island Fire Chief Brad Creesy could not confirm if anyone lived in the structure.

Creesy said training occurred right before the call, so many firefighters were at their Mullis Street headquarters and able to quickly extinguish the blaze.

He noted that structure fires, as opposed to wildland fires, are rare on the island, though one occurred on Golf Course Road in recent months.

“We don’t have many structure fires, so to have two in a couple months is pretty busy for us,” said Creesy.

San Juan County Sheriff Ron Krebs said his deputies have made several arrests of people who live in untraditional structures, such as tents, trailers and cars, on the property. The most recent arrest was made about six months ago, and most arrests were due to failure to appear in court after a previous detainment. Krebs said there have not been any arrests due to narcotics on the property, but many arrestees have had substance abuse issues. He recalled one that used methenamine and another who used heroin. The San Juan County Fire Marshall declined to comment on the details of the fire, including investigations into the cause.