CASS LAKE, Minn. (AP) — Authorities suspect a wildfire in Cass County that caused an evacuation and a heavy firefighting response was intentionally set.
The sheriff’s department says ten homes were evacuated Wednesday afternoon when the fast-moving fire burned about 76 acres near Cass Lake. Some abandoned outbuildings were destroyed, but no one was hurt.
Sheriff Tom Burch says a juvenile male near the fire was taken into custody because arson is suspected as the cause of the blaze.
Two airplanes and two helicopters dumped water on the wildfire while bulldozer operators and firefighters worked below to contain it. Federal, state and local agencies were on the scene of the fire, which was contained by 5:30 p.m., about four hours after it started.
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