FAIRBANKS -- A spokesman for a rural Fairbanks volunteer fire department says a weekend fire destroyed a four-bedroom home east of the city and left nine people homeless.

North Star Volunteer Fire Department battalion chief Russ Ackerman tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that no one was injured in the Saturday afternoon blaze near Mile 7 Chena Hot Spring Road.

Ackerman says the homeowner, his family and two renters were at home when the fire started. He says the 6,200-square foot home was half in flames when firefighters arrived.

The homeowners told Ackerman the fire started outside, climbed up the three-story house wall and ignited the roof. The state Division of Forestry was on hand to make sure the fire didn't spread to grass or woods.