Major grass fire prompts evacuation Saturday in southeast Minnesota

A major grass fire in Wabasha County led to a road closure Saturday.

At around 3 p.m., the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office took to Facebook to tell residents that “heavy fire and medical traffic” had resulted in the closure of County Road 84 south of Wabasha/Kellogg.

It was serious enough that residents in the West Newton area were asked to evacuate.

Fire crews were called to the scene from throughout Wabasha County and western Wisconsin. In fact, a total of 19 agencies were involved in the response.

• Kellogg Fire Department
• Kellogg First Responders
• Wabasha Fire Department
• Plainview Fire Department
• Lake City Fire Department
• Elgin Fire Department
• Nelson, WI Fire Department
• Alma, WI Fire Department
• Goodview Fire Department
• Minnesota City Fire Department
• Rollingstone Fire Department
• Altura Fire Department
• Wabasha Ambulance
• Lake City Ambulance
• Wabasha Police Department
• Minnesota DNR Forestry
• Minnesota State Patrol
• Winona County Dispatch
• Buffalo County Dispatch

A short time later, the sheriff’s office posted an update stating that the evacuation had been called off and that residents should instead use their “best judgement” in the area.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources listed Wabasha County's fire risk as "extremely high" due to strong winds and low humidity on Saturday, and on Sunday burning is not allowed in Wabasha County due to similar conditions.