Home on Herman Road in Cherry Township Destroyed by Fire; No Injuries

A trailer home on Herman Road in Cherry Township, east of the city of Hibbing, was declared a total loss early Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, and the homeowner is being assisted by the American Red Cross after escaping without injury. St. Louis County emergency crews and neighboring departments responded to the blaze and the lone occupant reported the house was fully engulfed.

“The Sheriff's Office was notified of the structure fire on Herman Road in Cherry Township, east of the city of Hibbing, after the homeowner and lone occupant called 911 to report the home was fully engulfed in flames and he was attempting to extinguish the fire,” the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release quoted by local outlets.

“Initial stages of the investigation indicate the homeowner had been attempting to dry firewood using his interior woodstove, which the drying wood then caught on fire and spread to the interior of the trailer home,” the Sheriff’s Office news release said, describing the preliminary cause reported by investigators.

Responding agencies listed by the Sheriff’s Office included the Cherry Fire Department, Clinton Fire Department, Hibbing Fire Department, and the Kinney Fire Department, with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office assisting at the scene. After firefighting and suppression efforts early Saturday morning, crews determined the structure was a total loss; no injuries were reported.

“The homeowner is being assisted by the American Red Cross,” the release stated. The Sheriff’s Office called the investigation preliminary; a final determination of cause has not yet been announced and officials did not provide an exact time of the 911 call or the homeowner’s identity. Local officials have not reported any damage to nearby properties or additional requests for mutual aid beyond the listed departments.

St. Louis County authorities said the matter remains under investigation and urged caution when using indoor woodstoves to dry materials, as noted in the initial findings. The homeowner’s displacement and Red Cross assistance mark the immediate community impact, and investigators will need to clear a final cause before the case is closed.