This house, built in the 1870s, was destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

Tom Ballard / News-Register

An early Thanksgiving morning fire gutted the 1870s rural Carlton home Kevin Horton and his family have lived in for 13 years. But Horton, his wife, Micky, and their two children still are feeling thankful today.

"Everyone got out," Horton said. "Our pets - four dogs, two cats and a litter of kittens - escaped the fire.

"It's definitely troubling. It's been our home for 13 years. I'm just trying to make sure my family has what it needs."

The fire at 7380 Old McMinnville Highway, off Gun Club Road, was reported about 1 a.m., according to Carlton Fire Chief Terry Lucich. Horton said he and his wife were downstairs. Their daughter, 17-year-old Milana Horton, and their son, 24-year-old Sean Bruce, were upstairs. She was still awake. He was asleep.

"My wife and I had been doing some cooking for Thanksgiving," Horton said. "We were getting ready to go to bed. Milana came downstairs and said she smelled smoke. There was smoke in the house."

Horton added, "I went and checked the wood stove. We had let it die out. The smoke was getting thicker so I rounded everyone up and we got out and called 911. By the time the first firefighters got there, the house was on fire."

The family used the wood stove to heat the home throughout the day and into the evening hours Thursday. Horton said he believes the fire started in the attic. Lucich said the official cause is undetermined.

Flames heavily damaged the upstairs of the wood-frame home. The downstairs sustained extensive smoke and water damage. Portions of the roof collapsed. Lucich estimated the damage at $350,000 to the structure and contents, and declared it a total loss.

"We can't live there," Horton said. "The Red Cross is putting us up through the weekend, and then we've got to find a place to stay."

Not only did Horton, his wife and children lose their belongings, but another daughter, Amanda, had moved out of the home not long ago, and left most of her possessions behind.

Micky and Milana Horton, a 2009 McMinnville High School graduate, were both treated at Willamette Valley Medical Center for smoke inhalation, according to Lucich. Two firefighters, whom the chief did not identify, suffered minor injuries. One was treated at the scene and the other at the hospital.

Equipment and firefighters from Amity, Carlton, Dayton, Dundee, Lafayette and McMinnville battled the blaze. The Hortons, who were insured, praised the work of the firefighters.