SLOUGHHOUSE, CA (MPG) - A Rancho Murieta resident was the first to raise the alarm about an early morning fire that destroyed a barn on Meta Court in Sloughhouse on July 11.

Jefferson Chantry was driving home around 2:30 a.m. when he noticed a bright orange glow and rising smoke on the north side of Jackson Highway.

“When it came into view, it looked like a structure,” he said. Chantry initially thought it might be a home because of outdoor lights in front of the building.

Realizing there were no fire department lights at the scene and little traffic on Jackson Highway, Chantry feared the fire hadn’t yet been reported. 

“I didn’t know whether it was a home or not, but I was really worried for the people because they could be asleep,” he said.

After a 911 operator confirmed he was the first to report the fire, “I just kind of sat there and filmed it (on his phone) while I was waiting for the fire department,” he said. His video is  posted online at facebook.com/reel/1426951541972009.

Chantry estimated the fire had been burning for 5 to 10 minutes before he spotted it, and at that point, it was about half the size shown in his video. Within 6 minutes, he said, the flames had doubled.

He stayed to watch until the fire department arrived. 

“It collapsed once they started getting water on it,” he said.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Captain Wilbourn Parker confirmed the structure had been destroyed.

“It was an isolated barn fire,” he said. “There were no additional threats to structures, animals or vegetation.

 “The barn was a total loss and was fully involved in flames when crews from Metro Fire and Wilton Fire arrived,” Parker added. The cause is under investigation. 

Chantry said he realized it would take time for the fire department to reach the blaze on Meta Court after checking maps on his phone. 

The only access to that area of homes is via Flagstaff Road off Latrobe Road, and Meta Court is the street farthest from the entrance.