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It was the first house they ever owned. It was a log cabin they had spent hundreds of hours refurbishing with their own hands. But in a matter of moments Thursday afternoon, fire destroyed Willow King and Kelly Hagelund's home.

Investigators believe the fire started in the Hagelund family's wood stove, which had been stoked earlier that morning, according to Central Emergency Services Fire Marshal Gary Hale.

The Hagelund's two-story log cabin near Mile 107 off the Sterling Highway "pancaked in" after the flames took hold, Hale said.

"The roof fell into the second floor and the second floor fell into the first floor," Hale said. "Fire was venting through all of the windows."

Hale said investigators are looking into other possible causes, such as an electrical malfunction, but he said the wood stove is most likely to blame. He also said crews would continue to combat the blaze.

"Crews are foaming the entire house to cover the fire to eliminate any oxygen to it," Hale said.

King was at work when she first received the news.

"Wow, it looks black," she said of what she was thinking when she and her husband first saw the scene. "Shock I guess would be a good word to describe it."

King, 29, her husband, 28, and their three children, ages 18 months to 7 years old, are staying with friends tonight, but the family's long-term future remains unclear.

"We're going to see how the insurance thing goes," King said.

Red Cross, neighbors and friends have been more than willing to help, according to King and Hale, who is King's uncle.

"Neighbors and friends are rallying around them offering clothing and even money," Hale said.

Neighbor Geoff Timm phoned the fire department after he looked out his window and saw thick, black smoke early yesterday afternoon. He then rescued the family's Great Dane and husky mutt.

"I ran down, kicked the garage door open and got the dogs out," Timm said. "I knew no one was home because their rigs were gone."

The two dogs circled anxiously among the firefighters fighting the blaze. The dogs then ran to Hagelund and King when they arrived.

"It was a good reaction by the neighbors knowing the couple had two dogs in their garage," Hale said. "It's good they were able to let them out."

"I'm glad to have our dogs," King said.

The home and the possessions inside, all lost, totaled approximately $225,000, Hale said. But to the family, it was even more. They lost a building they had transformed into their home of five and a half years.

The couple had replaced rotten logs, windows and the old roof on the house, King said.

"Next summer we were going to replace the other barn section."

M. Scott Moon contributed to this report. Reporter Andrew Waite can be reached at andrew.waite@peninsulaclarion.com