WALKER VALLEY – A stone house used as a weekend home, on Registro Road, off Indian Springs Road, caught fire at some point on Tuesday afternoon, August 17. By the time the fire was reported and firefighters reached the scene, the building was well ablaze and could not be saved.

John Kidd, a photographer, heard of the fire on the police scanner.

"They said it was called in at 3:17 pm. Nobody was home, and nobody was hurt. Because the house was in a remote spot, it was up in flames by the time they got there."

Kidd also noted, "They ran out of water at one point and had to wait for a backup tanker to come in. They were bringing the water down this long driveway through joined together hoses."

All that remained after the fire was put out were the stone walls and chimney.

Firefighters from Walker Valley, Cragsmoor, Wallkill, Napanoch, Ellenville, Bloomingburg and Pine Bush responded to the fire. One reason the call brought such a widespread response was due to fear that in such a dry summer, the fire might spread to the surrounding vegetation on the Shawangunk Ridge.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but a Fire Investigation Unit apparently visited the scene.