Fire crews save homes from Lino Lakes brush fire: "We're very lucky"
LINO LAKES, Minn. – A brush fire torched at least 15 acres Tuesday in Lino Lakes, forcing some to temporarily evacuate as fire crews worked to extinguish the fire.
"Literally in minutes it just came across and took the whole swamp," Lino Lakes resident Casey Noren said.
Fast-moving flames sent billowing black smoke into the air over Lino Lakes.
"I was over at my neighbor's house talking and I was just about to get into my truck and leave and all of the sudden I saw a bunch of black smoke and I was like woah, something is really burning back there," Casey said.
Casey watched from his balcony as a plane dropped fire retardant and water onto the flames. A helicopter used nearby ponds to scoop water into a bucket to douse the fire.
"I got an elderly neighbor, not in the best of health, better go check on him first. Ripped over there, knocked on the door, made sure he was up, he was OK," Casey said.
His home is OK, and so were others despite the flames coming close at one point.
"We were standing right there and all of a sudden it just went woof, and just black smoke like crazy, and then we saw the flames," Lance Noren said.
Next door to Casey, Deb and Lance are thankful the wind was in their favor, pushing the fire away from their home.
"In a way you couldn't tell that it was gonna come this way because it was moving kind of southwest," Deb said.
Though it's unclear how the fire started, neighbors agree it could have been a lot worse.
"If the wind would have switched, myself, my neighbors…but that didn't seem to be the case today. We're very lucky," Casey said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says our fire danger was "moderate" Tuesday, but that can change quickly this time of year.
