Rachael Ray's Lake Vanare home destroyed by fire

LAKE LUZERNE | The home of celebrity chef and talk show host Rachael Ray, located near Lake Vanare, has been destroyed by fire, witnesses reported to The Sun late evening on Sunday, Aug. 9. Witnesses said the blaze, believed to start as a chimney fire, began at 7:30 p.m. or so. Fourteen fire companies from across the county responded to the blaze with equipment and personnel, but the fire was fully involved and Ray's home couldn't be saved, they said. A person at the scene of the fire said that flames rose more than 70 feet above the house, which is located at 22 Chuckwagon Trail in the town of Lake Luzerne. No one was hurt in the fire. A representative for the international celebrity told a People.com reporter late Sunday that Rachael, her husband John Cusimano, and their dog Bella were all "safe" following the incident. Fire officials said Monday morning that the three were in the home at the time the fire broke out, but were able to escape without harm. Local fire officials said at a press conference Monday morning that no conclusion had yet been made about the fire's origin, and an investigation into the incident is likely to to continue for another week or so. They said it had taken about two hours to quell the blaze. William McGovern, the chief investigator for the state's Office of Fire Prevention & Control told media representatives that the fire appeared to have started on the home's second floor. Just before noon on Monday, Rachael Ray expressed her appreciation for local emergency personnel via Twitter. "Thank you to our local first responders for being kind and gracious and saving what they could of our home. Grateful that my mom, my husband my dog... we're all okay," she tweeted. "These are the days we all have to be grateful for what we have, not what we've lost." Her message was posted via a borrowed phone, as she her smartphone was lost in the blaze, she said. Over the recent weeks, the Rachael Ray Show crew has been videotaping episodes of her show at her Lake Vanare home because of the coronavirus pandemic. In April, Rachael Ray gave a tour of her kitchen for one of her television shows. People.com reported that hours before the blaze engulfed the home, Ray had shared photos of the couple's meal with friends. Rachael Ray, 51, has many fans in the region — She is a 1986 graduate of Lake George High School and in recent years has held annual cooking shows at the school to benefit the high school's alumni association.

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Rachael Ray's Lake Vanare home destroyed by fire

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