Shelly residents evacuated from homes as massive fire erupts

SHELLY, Minn. (KVRR) — Shelly residents were awoken to bright orange skies early Friday morning as a massive fire broke out hundreds of feet away from their homes. Local authorities responded and requested residents to evacuate.

“Boom, boom, boom! Knocked on the door really loud, so can’t say I didn’t hear you, I heard them. And I went inside and I told my daughter, you better get dressed. I think we’re being evacuated. And then the sheriff came over and said we needed to evacuate because the wind did change direction. So he said if we have pets, take the pets and go to Halsted or the parking lot, so I’m at the parking lot,” said Marilyn Beech, Shelly Resident

Beech and many other residents gathered at the parking lot nearby. Watching as fire departments from the area surrounded the building. One Shelly resident said he was just getting home from work around 5 in the morning when he saw a bright flash.

“It was this huge roaring fire, and I called the fire department and all that. And they came down here and did their jobs, did their jobs very well. Actually they made sure that everyone was evacuated because not only was it a big problem with all the fires whatnot going on, it was the chemicals and whatnot that was floating in the air along with the ambers and the smoke,” said William Jones, Shelly Resident.

The fire initially started in the large grain elevator. It had then spread to a nearby farm chemical building. Paul Provost, the owner of Hillsboro Cafe, saw the fire from his home in Halsted. He and his wife decided that they needed to help the residents as best they could.

“Pretty much as soon as I got to the cafe, it was decided like we got to help the people out of Shelly. So just started packing up what we could and then head out here. And we’re going to close down the cafe here shortly, and then my wife will bring more stuff out. Didn’t realize there was going to be so many people, so we’re going to grab more food and keep cooking for as long as residents aren’t allowed to go back into their house,” said Paul Provost, Co-owner, Hillsboro Cafe.

Residents of Shelly were given the all clear to head to their homes as of 1 pm and were advised to stay indoors.

The City of Shelly has a boil water order in effect until further notice. And road closures remain in effect on County Roads 3 and 18.