(Lake Park)– A major fire Sunday destroyed three buildings in downtown Lake Park and damaged the town’s post office.
Lake Park Fire Chief Brandon Ehret tells KUOO news firefighters were called to Hemphill Family Care Clinic on Market Street and found considerable smoke coming from the building. He says firefighters battled the blaze as best they could, but the wind and lack of water hindered their efforts. He says the blaze quickly spread to two other adjoining buildings which were vacant…one of them an old meat locker. All three buildings were totally destroyed.
No injuries were reported.
The post office building sustained some smoke and water damage, along with holes in the roof. Post Master Ben Reed tells KUOO news they were able to get all of the mail out of the building unharmed. He says it’s been locked and is secure. Reed says they’ll be assessing the damage to the building further this (Monday) morning. In the meantime, he says they’ll try to figure out where to temporarily locate operations. He says no mail was lost as a result of the blaze.
Reed says mail delivery in Lake Park will be suspended for now.
In addition to Lake Park, fire departments from Spirit Lake, Milford, Arnolds Park/Okoboji, Superior, Ocheyedan, Round Lake, Lakefield, Fostoria, Everly and Harris battled the blaze.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshall’s Office.
