Trail clearing equipment caught fire on a ski trail in the Lutsen area on November 6, 2014 but was extinguished before causing any injury or damage to the forest around the trail.
Michael O’Phelan Jr., the equipment operator, made the emergency call at 11:38 a.m. A page for Lutsen Fire Department and First Responders and Cook County Ambulance went out at 11:40 a.m. to respond to a tree trimmer on fire on the ski trail about ½ mile west of the Caribou Trail in Lutsen.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Tom Wahlstrom was in the area and he also responded with Lutsen firefighters. They were able to get the fire out using fire extinguishers and buckets of water from a nearby water source. The ambulance was cancelled at 12:02 p.m.
CO Wahlstrom advised that the fire was out and he and Lutsen Fire were clear of the scene by 12:32 p.m.
O’Phelan told emergency responders that he was towing the mower with an ATV on the ski trail and got stuck. He had a 5-gallon gas can onboard and when he shut off the engine, there was a spark and the gas can—and the mower—burst into flames.
The fire did not spread to surrounding vegetation and no one was injured. The mower however, was a complete loss.
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