Historic Surrey house destroyed by fire

A historic house in Surrey was completely destroyed by fire Sunday morning.

The blaze broke out just after 9 a.m. Sunday at Grosvenor Road and Kindersley Drive. A massive plume of black smoke could be seen from several kilometres away.

Up to 10 people were inside at the time the fire broke out and they all made it out safely.

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The house was for sale and neighbours say it had been a nuisance property for some time.

The century-old house was once owned by famed magician Leon Mandrake, who died back in 1993. Mandrake built secret doors in the house, which was popular with visiting magicians. There was an application to have the house declared a heritage site.

Elsewhere, a separate fire broke out in Surrey’s Green Timbers Park. The fire burned deep in the woods between 94 Avenue and Fraser Highway. Officials set up a command post at 148 Street and 94 Avenue and laid about 1,400 feet of hose in order to extinguish the blaze, which is suspected to be human-caused.