Brainerd Woman Dies from Grass Fire in Crow Wing Township

A Brainerd woman died yesterday afternoon after a grass fire broke out in Crow Wing County.

The Sheriff’s Office reported that a field was on fire just after 12 p.m. near a residence in the 6400 block of Wetherbee Road in Crow Wing Township, located about eight miles south of Brainerd.

The Brainerd Fire Department and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources extinguished the fire, and deputies located and identified the deceased homeowner as a 65-year-old woman, whose name has not yet been released. The fire is currently under investigation by the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office along with other state entities.

“She may have been on a lawnmower and was riding out in her yard and the mower caught on fire, and she was struggling with some mobility issues and wasn’t able to get away from the tractor,” Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang told Lakeland News. “So, unfortunately a very sad, tragic story.”

No structures were burned in the fire. The name of the victim will be released after family members are notified of the death.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Brainerd Fire Department, North Memorial Ambulance, Lakes Area Rescue, the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.