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Rachael Ray 'grateful for what we have' after fire rips through her home; kitchen spared

Celebrity chef Rachael Ray, her husband John Cusimano, mother Elsa Scuderi and dog Bella Boo were not harmed after a fire roared through their upstate New York home Sunday night.

Ray spoke out on social media Monday morning, thanking "local first responders for being kind and gracious and saving what they could of our home."

The celebrity cook, 51, added that her cell phone was among the items lost in the fire and was posting "through a team member."

She added: "Grateful that my mom, my husband, my dog... we're all okay. These are they days we all have to be grateful for what we have, not what we've lost."

Firefighters rushed to Ray's Lake Luzerne, N.Y. home on Chuckwagon Trail, about an hour north of Albany, at around 8 p.m. Sunday night to battle the fire. There were no injuries.

Despite flames flying through the roof in the blaze, Warren County Fire Coordinator Brian LaFlure told USA TODAY Tuesday that Ray's high-end, self-designed kitchen avoided fire damage.

Ray has been filming episodes of the "Rachael Ray Show" in the home kitchen during the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing food alongside her husband (and an at-home camera man).

"The fire appeared to start in the roof area and got down to the second floor, but the first floor sustained no fire damage," LaFlure said. "There was some water damage and things fallen down. But the first floor is in relatively good shape. They have a lot of work to do first but, but at least it’s not damaged."

"Obviously their home is damaged. But everybody got out safe, that’s the most important thing, and no fire fighters were injured," LaFlure said.

By Monday, state fire investigators were on the scene assessing the situation and the potential cause.

William McGovern, chief of the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Service's fire investigation branch, said it will likely be a week or two before the state issues a final determination on the cause.

McGovern said he did not have an immediate estimate of the cost of the damage, but confirmed there was extensive harm done to the roof assembly, where the fire is believed to have started.

“We will treat this case as we would any fire," McGovern said at a news conference Monday. "There’s a methodical process that we have to go through to examine the scene, interview witnesses and figure out where the fire started, and then we can look at potential causes.”

Ray was born in nearby Glen Falls and is 1986 graduate of Lake George High School. She has owned the house since 2013 and has been filming episodes of the "Rachael Ray Show" in the home kitchen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There ain't a lot of hair and make-up going on here, so it's a different kind of intimacy that I think we've established with our viewers and honestly it feels good," Ray told WNYT-TV in Albany on May 1, adding that she had upgraded the home internet to allow for Zoom broadcasts with the show's guests.

During a tour of the house earlier this year, Ray said she designed the home and had "worked 35 years" to get the gas stove and pizza oven of her dreams. The open kitchen features a large kitchen block and "The Avenger," a commercial dishwasher.

View this post on Instagram

Safe and sound.

A post shared by Rachael Ray (@rachaelray) on Aug 10, 2020 at 4:42pm PDT

Just hours before the fire, Ray shared photos on Instagram of elaborate spreads of food, including smoked filet mignon subs, which were enjoyed for dinner. On Monday, Ray added an Instagram photo of a relaxed Bella Boo with the caption "safe and sound."

LaFlure said fire fighters were hampered by the rural location that did not have fire hydrants.

"We did the best we could, it’s a rural, difficult area," he said. "It took a little while to bring in tankers to bring in the water and we were able to save what we could."

Contributing: Jon Campbell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rachael Ray 'grateful' after fire rips through home; Kitchen spared