Local fire departments responded to a fire at a house under construction near Blackie on Wednesday morning (Jan 3).

At around 4:30 a.m., personnel from the High River, Blackie, Black Diamond, and the Foothills fire departments responded to the reports of a structure fire.

According to High River Fire Chief Cody Zebedee, the fire spread very quickly, and the structure was destroyed by the time they arrived.

"The building was under construction and had already collapsed in on itself, so there wasn't really much standing... crews worked on putting some water on it and there were no exposures or injuries reported."

The structure was on an acreage lot, so there was no danger of the blaze spreading to other buildings, and the abundant snow ensured grass fire wouldn't be an issue.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, but Zebedee says the extent of the damage could make things difficult.

"Given that it was in the stick frame phase of building, there was no drywall or insulation or anything like that, which led to rapid fire growth. Given the substantial damage to the building, it may be very tough to come up with a definitive cause."