A four-alarm fire at Gustafson Trailers in Becker Twp. destroyed the main building located at 14747 165th Ave. SE at Hwy. 10 and Co. Rd. 11 Tuesday afternoon.
Huge wafts of black smoke billowed across the sky as firefighters from Becker, Big Lake, Monticello and Clear Lake descended upon the corner business at around 5:10 p.m. The call for distress came out at 4:44 p.m. and by the time the first truck arrived, the building was fully engulfed.
First on the scene were members of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Dept. and they immediately started directing traffic at the intersection of the highway and county road. Wave after wave of fire trucks and emergency vehicles — up to at least 15 — navigated the snarled traffic and swooped in to help.
Due to the fire and explosions caused by gas and propane tanks inside the building, firefighters were cautious in their approach to the building and west-bound Hwy. 10 and north and south-bound traffic on Co. Rd. 11 had to be shut down and diverted.
The Gustafson building was a total loss and there were no injuries as a result of the fire. The state Fire Marshal’s office and the criminal investigation division of the sheriff’s office are investigating the cause of the fire.
