Camp Sherman cabin saved from fire

Priscilla Wilt and her sister, Robbie Beistel, were relaxing in the living room of the Wilt family cabin at No. 8 The Pines, a small private resort in Camp Sherman on Saturday afternoon, when they thought they saw smoke.

It seemed to be coming from the area of a cabin owned by Brian Metke, about 125 yards to the south on Metke Lane. They were not unduly alarmed at the time, but decided to get on their bikes and go take a look.

When they arrived, they discovered that Metke was not home and the front porch of his cabin was completely ablaze. The flames had already charred the base of the porch and climbed up the 100-year-old ponderosa pine logs used to support it.

Wilt, who at 68 is the younger of the sisters by two years, sent Beistel back to The Pines to call 911. Beistel, who just recently completed year-long course of radiation and chemotherapy for cancer, set out as fast as she could go to summon help. Along the way, she discovered that her 14-year-old Shetland sheep dog, Cricket, who is nearly blind and deaf, had followed the two women on their bikes. Fearing the animal might be harmed by arriving emergency vehicles, she abandoned the bike and proceeded to tug the dog along with her on foot.

Eventually, she got to the phone and was able to reach the 911 operator who assured her help was on the way.

Meanwhile, her sister, Priscilla, had followed a garden hose around the house in search of a faucet, only to discover it was not hooked up. She proceeded another 50 yards to Metke's pump house where she found a longer hose which was connected, turned the water on, and dragged it back to the fire which was now leaping up into the eaves of the two-story structure and threatening a large, wood-burning cedar sauna built into the porch.

Fortunately, the hose was equipped with a spray nozzle and plenty of water pressure so she was able to extinguish the flames in a matter of minutes.

The structure is one of several in the area built by the late legendary Camp Sherman log cabin builder Luther Metke, Brian's grandfather. He was one of Oregon's last surviving veterans of the Spanish-American War when he died at age 100 in 1985. The cabin is located on a portion of Metke Lane that has recently been designated the "Luther Metke Corridor."

Neighbors were relieved that the fire was detected early enough to be extinguished as the aged, two-story structure might easily have ignited nearby timber and other cabins had it reached its potential.

Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff David Blann, who arrived on the scene just as the flames were being quenched, said, "These ladies arrived just in the knick of time. There is just one word to describe them, and that word is 'hero' ."

The Wilts and Metkes have been neighbors since 1985 when the Wilts built the cabin they now call home. Shortly after they retired there in 2011, another fire broke out on the Metke property when a power line blew down in a windstorm and ignited a garage which was also built from logs. The Wilts were also the first to detect and report that fire, but not before the building was destroyed. It has since been replaced by a second log structure which was completed just this year.

The cause of Saturday's blaze is under investigation.