Structure fire

At about 11:10 p.m. Saturday, July 3, the Stearns County Communications Center received a call about a possible structure fire at the address of 23864 178th Avenue in Wakefield Township, about 1.5 miles Northeast of the city of Richmond. The caller reported there were several hay bales on fire on the property.

A Deputy arrived on scene and spoke with the homeowner Charles Schmitz who was not home when the fire started. The building was a pole shed about 30’ x 40’ with no side walls. Under the roof were about 110 large square hay bales and 40 large square straw bales. The hay had been cut and baled about three weeks ago. The hay, straw, and building were a complete loss. No other structures were damaged.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Cold Spring/Richmond Police Dept., Chain of Lakes Fire Dept., Cold Spring Fire Dept., and Richmond Fire Dept.. The fire remains under investigation by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office.