January 23 – A spectacular early morning fire destroyed or damaged five structures near downtown Virginia. Virginia and Mountain Iron firefighters were dispatched just after 5:00 a.m. to a report of smoke and flames coming from the Grande Ace Hardware warehouse located on Railroad Avenue and 2nd Street South. The blaze quickly spread to another warehouse, a mini storage building, a house and a garage apartment. Firefighters from Eveleth, Gilbert, Fayal Township. Clinton Township, Cherry Township, Pike-Sandy-Britt, Kinney-Great Scott and U.S. Steel were also dispatched to the scene. No injuries were reported, but damages were expected to exceed $500,000. Four people were displaced by the fire. The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Virginia Police Department and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Photos by Mike Zadra of The Northland FireWire
