An early morning fire nearly destroyed a royal oaks house on Tuesday. firefighters from the north monterey county fire protection district responded to the blaze at 4 a.m. the flames ignited at a house at 68 paddon road, off of highway-156 (near Prunedale). The fire was controlled in an hour. No injuries to people were reported; 1 dog did suffer smoke inhalation, but it was safely rescued and is expected to recover. Damage was estimated at 200-thousand dollars. the cause of the fire is under investigation.