A 64-year-old woman was found dead following a fully engulfed house fire in Wonder Lake early Sunday morning, authorities said.
The Wonder Lake Fire Protection District and Wonder Lake Police Department responded around 4:28 a.m. Sunday to the 5700 block of East Lake Shore Drive for a reported structure fire.
A resident nearby spotted the fire and called 911. Firefighters arrived and found a two-story single-family residence fully engulfed with heavy flames and smoke showing.
“When we pulled up, the house was pretty much totally involved, there was fire coming out of the roof, second-floor windows, first floor and the lower level,” Wonder Lake Fire Protection District Chief Mike Weber said.
“The windows were darkened and we couldn’t see in when we did our initial walkaround,” Weber added.
McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein said that firefighters later found a body inside the upper half of the residence.
The victim was identified as 64-year-old Vickie I. Arnolde, Rein said. An autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday to determine a cause and manner of death.
The male resident who lived in the bottom part of the home was accounted for and unharmed. No firefighters were injured, Weber said.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was utilized to bring several area fire departments to the scene to assist in extinguishing the blaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District, McHenry County Coroner’s Office and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.