A rural Hubbard County home burned to the ground early Saturday afternoon.
The home was located off Highway 87, just west of Hubbard. It was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene and struggled to get trucks into the wooded surrounding.
"I have no idea how it started and probably won't know for awhile," Park Rapids Fire Chief Donn Hoffman said.
Firefighters scrambled into the woods with shovels to dig trenches to keep the fire from spreading through the trees. They were dripping sweat in the 90 degree temperatures, hot winds, and dressed in their turn-out gear.
The State Fire Marshall will conduct an investigation.
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A neighbor called the fire in at 1 p.m.
"We were having a garage sale" adjacent to the burning structure on Highway 87, the man said.
"I've lived here five years and didn't even know there was a house back here," he said.
But the house was obviously occupied. A distraught woman pulled up behind the fire trucks and was fighting back tears as she was talking on a cell phone.
The log home and an adjacent building were a total loss.
