Fire destroys Mountain Lake business

Town loses

power as

result of blaze

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

MOUNTAIN LAKE -- A fire at a furniture manufacturing company in Mountain Lake leveled the building, causing the entire town of 2,000 people to lose electrical power Tuesday morning. No one was injured in the blaze.

Fire broke out in the back room of Conestoga Wood Furniture between 8:30-9 a.m., according to Rich Kunkel, Mountain Lake Fire Chief.

"It started around one of the finishing rooms," Kunkel said. "It sounds like it got into the ventilation system and spread throughout the building."

Billowing smoke clouds could be seen 15 miles from town.

Four main circuit feeders went directly over the one-floor furniture shop, according to Ron Melson of the Mountain Lake Public Works Plant Power. The fire caused the feeders to shut down, cutting of power to the town.

"The whole city is out," Kunkel said. "These are the main feeder lines for the whole city."

The city then began using its backup generators.

"We have about half the town temporarily back on," Melson said at 1 p.m. "We've got a lot of work to do."

Martin Skow, who lives a few blocks south of the furniture store, said he lost power at 9:30 a.m., and it was later restored at 11 a.m. Skow said authorities have asked people to conserve power and avoid using computers or other power-draining equipment.

A few blocks away, Darlene Meyers was putting an extra layer of clothing on, awaiting the return of power and heat, as outside temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Right now, it's 55 degrees in the house," Meyers said, as she remained without power at 4 p.m. anticipating the return of electricity. "It shouldn't be much longer."

Conestoga Wood Furniture sat on one full city block. By 10 a.m., the entire building was flattened. Several firefighting units worked to control the blaze.

"It's such a disaster this time of year," Meyers said. "We're just grateful no one got hurt."

Harold Orvis was working inside Conestoga when the fire began.

"Someone hollered 'fire!' I turned around and there was a big ball of fire," Orvis said. "It went fast, really fast!"

So fast that most of the 25-30 employees didn't get a chance to grab car keys. Several cars sat next to the store, coated in water and foam from fire hoses.

Furniture was made in the back of the building, while the front was show space and offices, Orvis said.

Several chemicals used for staining the oak furniture can be hazardous, Orvis added.

"There's no smoking (cigarettes) in or around the building," he said.

Orvis, who has worked for Conestoga for 13 years, said the business had been open for about 20 years. However, the building was much older.

"It used to be an old lumberyard," Orvis said.

Marva Ott, a city employee, answered phone calls at city hall. She noted that city hall was still without power.

Elderly people who didn't have power were given the option to leave town for the day, Ott said.

"They are hauling a lot of people in buses to the Windom Community Center," Ott said.

Meyers said she heard the offer to head to Windom on the radio, but she decided to wait for power to return.

Art Ellingson lives across the street from the burned-out plant. He said he heard several explosions shortly after the fire began.

"The biggest explosions were the power lines going into the building," Ellingson said. "There were five to six right in a row."

It is unclear if the furniture store will be rebuilt. Jon Denny, president of Conestoga Wood Furniture, was en route to Mountain Lake to survey the damage. He could not be reached for comment.

Fire Chief Kunkel said the fire was under control at 10:30 a.m., but firefighters continued to put out the remaining flames throughout the morning.

"This is about as bad as it could have been," Kunkel said.