NATCHEZ &045;&045; A fire broke out in a Maple Street house Saturday in the early afternoon but no one was in the house during the blaze.

Owner Lonnie Johnson said he and his wife left home for church around noon, leaving their two sons at home. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed both sons were safe.

Johnson said he and his wife returned home as the fire started. &uot;We were coming back and we saw the smoke,&uot; Johnson said.

He said he just knew it was his house. &uot;I just had that feeling,&uot; he said.

Johnson said his neighbor told him he heard a popping noise coming from the air conditioner in the back of the house.

Fire Cmdr. Chris Gibson said the fire started in the rear of the house, but the fire’s cause was still under investigation as of Saturday night.

As firefighters worked to contain the fire despite wind gusts, neighbors gathered around to watch the blaze. Neither of the houses next door to the residence caught fire, but the heat of the fire peeled the paint on the side of one of the homes.

Johnson said John Goodrich of the American Red Cross talked to him before the fire was extinguished and arranged for him and his family to stay at the Natchez Inn.