Jan. 10--GRAND HAVEN -- A sculpture Grand Haven artist Michael Westra recently moved to the front of his house was the cause of a fire late Monday afternoon.
"It's been around forever," Westra said of the art, after a friend alerted him to a ruckus around his house. "I just moved it there a week ago."
Firefighters were called to the Westra home, 1234 Sheldon Road, about 4:33 p.m. when a passer-by saw flames on the front of the house, said Sgt. Clint Holt of the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety.
The first officer on the scene used a fire extinguisher and was able to put the fire out before it got out of control, Holt said. A thermal-imaging camera was used to make sure the fire did not extend into the house.
Holt said the only thing damaged was a plastic shutter that burned and some paint that blistered off the overhang.
Nobody was home at the time.
Holt said a prism in the sculpture caught the sun's rays at just the right angle and focused them on the shutter, causing the shutter to ignite.
"That lens has a certain focal length to it," Westra said. "It has to be just right or it's not in focus. The sun was at just the right angle. It was a freaky thing."
Westra said he never thought something like this would happen. "But I should have," he said.
"Now I have a new project for the weekend," Westra added.
The fire was ruled accidental, police said.
Copyright 2012 - Grand Haven Tribune, Mich.
