A fire at an Iron Range power plant Sunday caused $70,000 in damages, authorities said.
The Hibbing Fire Department responded to a report of a fire on a five-story conveyor belt at the the Hibbing Public Utilities power plant, 1832 E. Sixth Ave., just after 2:30 p.m., fire marshal Bryan Fagerstrom said in a news release. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames at the top of the belt, which Fagerstrom said the plant uses to carry wood chips to be burned to generate steam.
Crews knocked down the fire with a large deck gun and a hand line, and remained on the scene for several hours. Fagerstrom said no one was injured, and that the fire was caused by a bearing failure on the belt, which sustained water, smoke and fire damage.
The Chisholm and Keewatin fire departments assisted at the scene, as well as the Hibbing Public Utilities Commission.
