Cause of sawmill fire undetermined
Published 8:35 am Friday, October 15, 2010
Len Meyer, owner of Len's Wood Products north of Oakland, looks over the burned wreckage of his mill Thursday afternoon. The cause of the Wednesday's fire that destroyed his mill is yet to be determined. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
By Sarah Stultz
OAKLAND — Twenty-four hours after a fire destroyed his sawmill and hundreds of logs nearby, Len’s Wood Products owner Len Meyer on Thursday was trying to grasp the extent of damages to his business and how he will move forward.
“I don’t even know if it has hit me yet,” Meyer said Thursday afternoon. “Until they put all the numbers together, it won’t really sink in.”
Click here for a photo gallery
Logs at Len's Wood Product still smolder as they are sorted Thursday a day after the business was ravaged by fire the day before. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
On Wednesday, his sawmill shed, at 22726 890th Ave. just north of Oakland, caught fire and spread in heavy wind to large piles of logs and cut lumber.
Investigator Doug Johnson with the Freeborn County Fire Investigation Team, said after additional investigation Thursday, the cause of the fire is officially undetermined. There are too many variables in the case that have made it difficult to narrow down to one cause, he noted. There are no suspicions of arson.
He estimated Wednesday night damages of at least $500,000. Johnson said the blaze appears to have started in the southwest area of the sawmill building.
Meyer said two of his employees were in the shop at the time the fire started, and he was inside filling out invoices when smoke came billowing out of the sawmill.
The fire quickly spread.
Click here for video
More than a dozen fire departments responded to battle the blaze over a period of three to four hours, and there have since been several flare-ups.
