Two separate fires in the Lakeland area kept firefighters busy Wednesday morning.
A fire at Sheri’s Pub N Grub in Minocqua was reported just before 2:00 a.m.
The Minocqua Fire and Rescue Department says the restaurant was on fire by the time the first crews arrived.
The department said a ruptured gas line made suppression extremely difficult until Wisconsin Public Service got there to secure the gas and electric utilities.
It took firefighters from nearly a dozen departments and more than five hours to fully extinguish the fire.
"Fires of this size and duration are never handled by one department alone. They take mutual aid, trust, and hours of hard work from crews across the region. We are sincerely grateful to every department and agency that stood alongside us throughout these early hours today," Minocqua Fire and Rescue said in a statement.
Less than an hour after the call came in for that fire—another one came in for a structure fire in Arbor Vitae with people possibly trapped inside the home.
This call diverted some firefighters from Minocqua fire.
Firefighters founds smoke coming from the home on Bethel Drive when they arrived.
Crews searched the home, but one was found still inside.
The home is considered a total loss.
The Vilas County Sheriff’s Office says fire was started in the kitchen area. The cause is unknown at this time.
There were no injuries reported.
