CLAY COUNTY, Minn. (KFGO) – Clay County firefighters were busy fighting two separate fires Tuesday morning.
Sheriff Mark Empting said just after 10:30 a.m., Barnesville Fire responded to a large grass fire several miles north of town. Due to the size of the fire, they requested help from several other crews, including Sabin, Glyndon, Hawley, and Dilworth Fire Departments.
Empting doesn’t know how the fire started, but wind caused it to spread, burning 8 to 10 acres of CRP.
“The wind definitely fueled that fire and made it rather large,” Empting said. “That’s why they contacted several other fire departments to assist them with that.”
At 11:45 a.m., as crews were wrapping up the grass fire, a call came in for a house fire in south Glyndon.
No one was home at the time, but several pets were rescued.
“First arriving deputies and troopers were able to get three dogs out of the house,” Empting said. “Three cats and a guinea pig were still left in the house, but after the house was extinguished, those cats and guinea pigs were found safe.”
Empting said there was extensive fire and smoke damage to the house, but exact losses have not been determined.
The State Fire Marshal will investigate the cause of that fire.
