(Spirit Lake)– A fire late Monday afternoon destroyed a car port at a residence on the west side of West Lake Okoboji.
Spirit Lake Fire Chief Wally Jorgenson says firefighters were called to 16712 North Inner Lane around 3:15 p.m. Upon arriving he says they found the carport completely engulfed, with leaves and the grass all around the cottage on fire. Jorgenson says the fire charred a few areas on the west side of the cottage, but other than that there was no damage to the residence.
No one was home at the time. A neighbor across the street noticed the blaze as she was returning home and called authorities.
Jorgenson says some neighbors at the next cottage to the north had been burning some leaves Sunday and left, thinking they had the fire put out. Jorgenson says it apparently was still smouldering at the bottom of the pile, and today’s strong wind rekindled the fire, which quickly spread to the neighboring property.
Spirit Lake firefighters were on the scene about an hour and-a-half Monday afternoon.
Jorgenson says when it comes to a burning ban in Dickinson county, this will probably be the straw that broke the camel’s back. He says all of the chiefs in the county were being contacted late Monday afternoon about the possibility of requesting a ban. If they give the go-ahead, Jorgenson says the next step would be to contact the State Fire Marshall, who would actually implement the ban.
