Kingsbury blaze cause a mystery

The cause of the fire that destroyed an $850,000 Kingsbury Grade home may never be discovered.

East Fork Fire Investigator Capt. Terry Taylor said Tuesday that the fire originated in the basement, where it had been smoldering for some time.

"I'm not going to find a cause," he said. "The home collapsed in the center."

Taylor said the fire began on the east side of the basement, which was being used to store furniture and boxes.

No one was home when the fire began at 3 a.m. Sunday. Most of the structure above the basement was destroyed. Taylor estimated the damage to the home at $850,000. It is uninhabitable.

A pickup and a custom Corvette were destroyed inside the garage of the home. Neighbors reported hearing ammunition going off as the fire reached it inside.

The 30-year-old home belongs to Rudy Hindelang, who was in Carson City when the fire broke out.

Hindelang has owned the home for nearly 20 years, and was living there when the Autumn Hills fire claimed four of his neighbors' homes in 1996.

"The house survived the Autumn Hills fire, but not this," Taylor said Sunday. "They've been left with the clothes on their backs and the cars they were driving."

Firefighters from all over the Valley responded to the three-alarm fire.