By Terry Lehrke, News Editor
A fire in a swampy area on 195th Avenue between 183rd Street and 193rd Street, Little Falls, is being investigated as having been started under suspicious circumstances.
Little Falls Fire Chief Mike Nieman said the call came in about 7:44 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, and 22 firefighters worked for six hours to put out the flames on what he estimated was about 80 – 100 acres.
“We were walking through water up to our waist,” Nieman said. “It was a hard fire to access — the guys worked their tails off.”
The fire was difficult to fight, he said, because firefighters had to go into the swamp carrying “water bags” on their backs, as they were unable to bring their equipment into the fiery swampland.
“It was just one of those fires we couldn’t get to — we had no access and had to fight it all on foot, walking through water. It was a very difficult fire to put out.”
Nieman said a fire in one area was contained, then an area where there was no fire and a short way up the road, two fires — one on each side of the road.
The conditions, said Nieman, were not really dry in that area and the wind “wasn’t too bad — just a gust here and there.”
Nieman said the Department of Natural Resources assisted in fighting the fire and the Morrison County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident.