A home on Herd Road was destroyed by fire early on Saturday morning.
The Municipality of North Cowichan's South End firefighters were called to the blaze near the intersection of Herd Road and Kensington Road just before midnight on Friday, and responded to find the structure fully engulfed in flames.
Flames shot high into the darkness, while smoke billowed from the site.
"It was hard to tell what it was," Capt. Craig Douglas said.
After meeting with the homeowner, Douglas was able to confirm the building was a small cottage, about 800 square feet, and that no one was inside.
It took about 25 firefighters with five trucks about three hours to take down the flames and tend to any hot spots.
The cause of the fire wasn't known as of Tuesday.