A Meeker County home and a camper were declared a total loss after a fire and explosion occurred Monday afternoon.
The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a camper fire at the 31600 block of County Road 2 in Forest City just after 4 PM Monday. Sheriff’s deputies, Litchfield Fire and Rescue, and Mayo Ambulance arrived at the scene to find the camper fully engulfed, with flames spreading to a nearby house.
An explosion occurred; according to preliminary investigations, the explosion was likely caused by a propane tank that caught fire near the camper. Nobody was injured in the fire or explosion.
The owner of the property, 65-year-old Michael Huggert, was not present when the fire started, but other people present at the time told authorities that the fire started near the camper.
Also responding to the fire were the fire departments of nearby Dassel, Eden Valley, and Watkins. The fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office.
