The fire happened in the small community of Helfin.

Heflin Fire Chief Stewart Beatty said the fire, which destroyed the house, burned for five hours before firefighters from around the parish could extinguish it. It reignited this morning and burned a storage trailer behind the house, Beatty said.

The woman who lived there escaped unharmed. Beatty did not have her name immediately available but neighbors told firefighters she had raised a large family there.

The house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, Beatty said. It and everything inside was destroyed.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Beatty said an electrical short is suspected.