Mysterious Google-linked mansion in wealthy Palo Alto neighbourhood razed to ground by blaze

A three-alarm fire blazed through and completely gutted a mansion – believed to be owned either by Google co-founder Larry Page or the company itself – in California’s Palo Alto city this week.

Firefighters responded on Tuesday night at around 8pm and subsequently managed to put out the flame. No one was reported injured and the house was empty when the incident occurred, according to a report by local news website Palo Alto Online.

The fire was spotted on a security camera by a neighbour, who alerted fire officials, according to the city’s fire department.

Smoke had emerged from the second floor of the two-storey home, city fire official Shane Yarbrough, a city fire official, was quoted as saying.

The fire was triggered at the rear of the home, which has a long driveway, an attached unit at the back and a basement, according to Mr Yarbrough. The cause of the fire, however, has not yet been ascertained.

“Crews arrived to find heavy fire on three sides of the structure and on both stories,” a Facebook post from Palo Alto’s fire department said. “Additionally, flames from the fire threatened tall trees on one side of the structure.”

The property, situated at the neighbourhood’s Bryant Street, is a six-bedroom house estimated to be worth $11m (£7.9m).

It is either owned by Mr Page or Google itself, according to Palo Alto Online, who quoted a neighbour who requested anonymity.

The property could have possibly been used as an office during the day for a small team of workers, who parked their vehicles outside and left by evening, according to the neighbour.

Public records of the property reportedly showed it was owned by a Limited Liability Company (LLC) which shares the same address as Mr Page’s Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation.