Harvest time—and a Pelican Rapids area farmer has been burned out of shop and shed. 

Structures are likely a total loss at the Dennis Haiby farm following a Sept. 10 fire at his shops southeast of Pelican Rapids, on County Road 3. 

Haiby managed to get much of his big equipment to safety before the building was fully engulfed. But gone are an untold number of invaluable tools and small equipment, noted Pelican Fire Chief Trevor Steeves.

Pelican firefighters received the call at about 2:40 p.m. Monday. Haiby had been welding in the shop, when flammable liquid ignited, reported Steeves. The west end of the structure was totally involved when firefighters arrived. 

Fortunately, the Haiby home is about 50 yards away, and was not threatened. 

The east end of the building is still standing, said Steeves, but sustained water damage, and contents were extremely damaged from the heat. 

Steeves speculated that the buildings will be a total loss. The Pelican department was on the scene for about 2.5 hours. 

It was the second fire call in one day Sept. 11.

At about 9 a.m., the company installing fiber optic line hit an underground gas service line, within the city of Pelican—in a residential neighborhood. Firefighters were on standby for about 45 minutes, until Great Plains Natural Gas arrived to make necessary repairs.