A Home in the Oakland Hills Half-Lost in a Fire Gives Its Owner a Whole New Start

One night in 2017, around 2 a.m., Sammie Host awoke to the sound of fire engines. The smell of smoke was thick in her Oakland Hills home, which was in flames after a plastic bin of smoldering fireplace coals had been accidentally left on their back deck. In a lucky twist of fate, Host’s neighbor—who had uncharacteristically stayed home from a trip her husband had taken—happened to see the late-night blaze and alerted the local fire department. The call saved the lives of Host and her then-husband (and a dog they were watching), but by the time the sun came up, 40 percent of the home was destroyed, and the rest had suffered severe smoke and water damage.

"Half of the house was completely burned out," Sammie remembers. "The smell in the air was so strong, and everything that hadn’t burned was wet or charred."

Before the fire, Sammie and her husband had been going through a rough patch. After the incident with the house, he asked for a divorce, and Sammie was left alone to make a decision about what was next.

The couple had lived at the residence since 2000, and its location in a forested area of the Oakland Hills was part of what kept them there for so long. As for the house itself, certain details felt dated, like yellow oak flooring and an obtrusive staircase that broke up the flow of the main living space. But Sammie and her husband fell in love with its natural light and tree-house feel, with framed views of surrounding canopies.