La Crosse Tribune, Wis.
(TNS)
Two horses were killed and five people lost their home in a fire Thursday at the Minnesota Equestrian Center south of Winona.
Officials were still working Thursday evening with the property owner to account for all of the horses that were on the property at the time.
“We believe it was just two,” Winona County emergency management director Ben Klinger said about the horses that died in the fire.
Klinger, who is also Goodview’s deputy fire chief, was not certain how many horses were on the property when the fire broke out, but said there were “a lot.”
No people were injured in the fire that was first reported at 11:56 a.m. at 24621 Gilmore Valley Road, but five people were displaced.
The fire destroyed apartments in the center’s main building, which also included office space and other amenities utilized by the Center.
The displaced residents are receiving assistance.
“They were offered the Red Cross, but the property owner was putting them up in a hotel and helping them out for the night for sure,” Klinger said.
The apartments and offices were located in the north section of the main building facing Highway 21 where the fire was concentrated, Klinger said.
The Wilson Fire Department was the first agency on the scene and firefighters were able to prevent the fire from burning the main arena.
Mutual aid fire departments were called to help fight the fire Thursday, including those from Winona, Ridgeway, Goodview, Rushford, Kellogg, St. Charles and Lewiston. Some of the organizations were called to provide water tankers.
Winona Area Ambulance, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, and Minnesota State Patrol also assisted at the scene.
The fire marshal will work with Wilson Fire Department to determine the cause.
The Minnesota Equestrian Center, which is owned and operated by Jessica Rivers, includes several interconnected barns, two indoor and two outdoor arenas, stables, 356 stalls, and more.
Events and competitions are held at the facility year-round.
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