REGIONAL- An early morning fire on Saturday in Morcom Township and another on Tuesday morning in Willow Valley township caused extensive damage to multiple structures this week.
The Bearville and French Township fire departments were called out at 3 a.m. on Saturday for a fire at a residence in the 9000 block of Airport Road North, just south of Hwy. 22. According to a report by Northland Firewire, the blaze destroyed a sauna and extensively damaged a nearby cabin. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Five area departments responded to a pole barn fire Tuesday at 8 a.m. in the 10700 block of the Willow River Road, just west of the Hwy. 53. Firefighters from Orr, Crane Lake, Buyck, Bois Forte, and Cook fire departments were able to contain the fire to the interior of the building, according to the Northland Firewire report. No injuries were reported and the Cook Ambulance Service provided medical standby at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
These are the third and fourth property fires reported in rural townships west of Cook in the past two weeks. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reports that historically the risk of residential fires goes up in winter months with the increase in heating, lighting, cooking, and holiday activities. According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office there is one structure fire every three minutes in rural Minnesota, causing an annual average of $138 million in property damage over the past five years.