A snowstorm made conditions difficult for those fighting a fire that destroyed a Jefferson home and shut down Route 17 on Monday night, Jefferson Fire Chief Walter Morris said.

Jeremy Tillson had been building the two-story home at 313 Rockland Road (Route 17) himself and it was nearly complete, Morris said.

“He was looking forward to moving in very soon,” Morris said.

No one was at the home when the fire occurred, Morris said early Tuesday in a telephone interview from the Jefferson fire station. The home was a total loss as a result of the fire, he said.

Firefighters cleared the scene at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, nearly five hours after they were called out. Route 17 was closed to traffic for the first few hours after the fire was reported, at 9:48 p.m. Monday, Morris said.

Jefferson had help at the scene from Whitefield, Nobleboro, Waldoboro, Washington, Somerville, Windsor and Pittsfield. Newcastle firefighters covered Jefferson’s fire station.

Emergency medical crews from Jefferson and Waldoboro also responded to the fire scene. No one was hurt fighting the fire.

The fire’s cause was not immediately known because the damage was so extensive, Morris said. A representative from the State Fire Marshal’s Office would be examining the scene on Tuesday, he said.

Tillson had been running an electric heater and a propane heater at the home, Morris said.

Snow was still falling Monday night when firefighters responded to the scene under difficult driving conditions.

“It was snowing pretty good,” Morris said.

The home is set back a couple hundred feet from the road and the driveway had not been plowed, Morris said. One of the first firefighters on the scene had a plow and used it to clear the driveway. Walking at the scene was extremely slippery, Morris said.

Trucks shuttled water to the scene from Coopers Mills. The cold temperatures gave firefighters some problems with hoses and connections, but caused no damage to the fire trucks, Morris said.