(Spirit Lake)– Firefighters from four different area departments battled multiple house fires Saturday in the Monarch Cove area on the northeast side of West Lake Okoboji. Spirit Lake Fire Chief Pat Daly says his department received the initial page around 4:30 pm and soon after requested assistance from the Arnolds Park-Okoboji, Milford, and Lake Park Fire Departments after learning multiple structures were involved…
Daly says no injuries were reported and that it’s his understanding none of the homes were occupied at the time. He says the extreme weather affected how they were able to battle the fire, along with the proximity of the homes and narrow streets in that area…
Daly says the extreme cold also wreaked havoc with equipment…
Daly thanks everyone who brought food and coffee to help warm up the firefighters. He says a number of agencies and volunteers responded, and that a landscape service assisted by spreading sand. The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Spirit Lake police, Dickinson County Emergency Management, Alliant Energy, and Black Hills Energy also assisted on the scene. An ambulance from Lakes Regional Healthcare also stood by on the scene as a precaution.
Daly says determining the origin of the blaze could be very difficult as the first home was completely destroyed and collapsed.
Firefighters were on the scene well into the evening. The Spirit Lake Fire Department was called back to the location around 11:00 pm after a neighbor reported seeing flames once again coming from the scene.
Daly says the past couple of days have been pretty hectic for Spirit Lake firefighters. They responded to a call earlier in the day today (Sat.) at Sandpiper Cove that turned out to be an issue with a water line, and battled several vehicle fires, including one Friday that we reported on previously that destroyed a semi tractor in Spirit Lake.
