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Fire destroys cabin owned by ex-official

Former County Commissioner Josh Wooten loses family heirlooms and Gator football memorabilia.

By JOHN FRANK
Published August 31, 2006

	[Times photo: Ron Thompson]
	Citrus County firefighters hose down the smoldering interior of former Commissioner Josh Wooten's cabin in the River Lakes Manor subdivision off State Road 200 Wednesday after a fire destroyed the home. The cause of the fire is unknown.

HERNANDO - State fire officials are investigating a Wednesday afternoon blaze that destroyed a weekend home owned by former County Commissioner Josh Wooten.

At 1:38 p.m., a neighbor across a canal saw black smoke coming from the back of the two-bedroom cabin in the River Lakes Manor subdivision off State Road 200.

Firefighters arrived 18 minutes later to find the two-story structure valued at $70,800 engulfed in flames. The cause of the fire is still unknown, said Citrus County fire spokesman Tom McLean.

No one was home at the time of the fire.

Wooten, who lives in Citrus Hills, said the last time he visited the house was two weeks ago for a weekend getaway with his family before school started.

On Wednesday, he was finishing lunch at the Chicken King restaurant near his Wooten's AutoCorp car dealership when a neighbor called his office to tell him about the fire.

Wooten jumped in the car and arrived at the scene before firefighters. He said he tried to use a garden hose to control the flames but the water pump didn't work. He said he quickly realized that using the hose was futile.

Family heirlooms and University of Florida football memorabilia were lost in the blaze. Wooten, a huge Gator and Steve Spurrier fan, said he lost a 1996 national championship autographed football along with various other orange and blue keepsakes.

The former Democratic commissioner, who lost in 2004 to Republican Joyce Valentino, said he just finished refurbishing the wood-sided home with access to the Tsala Apoka lake chain last year and lived there for a short time when his Citrus Hills home was under construction.

It was Gator haven on football Saturdays for friends and family who enjoyed a barbecue and fire pit. Plans were already under way for the Southeastern Conference opener against the University of Tennessee on Sept. 16.

"I just bought a new wide screen television," he said.

Separately, investigators also are looking into what sparked a fire at a waterfront Crystal River home late Wednesday afternoon.

The fire broke out in a three bedroom, single-story house on N Apalachee Point just before 4:30 p.m. The homeowner was inside at the time but escaped without harm, McLean said.

It started in a bedroom and traveled through the attic, he said. Firefighters were able to contain the fire but smoke, heat and water damage destroyed much of the 2,000-square-foot home valued at $242,400.

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 860-7312.

[Last modified August 31, 2006, 06:32:44]