A power line was knocked down by a dump truck and a house caught fire in St. Wendel Township Thursday.

Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner says authorities received a 911 call about power lines being down just before 10 a.m. When deputies arrived they also noticed a nearby home in flames, located at 8988 320th St.

A dump truck from Schroder Inc. was unloading soil in front of the house. The driver, 65-year-old Ralph Schroden of St. Joseph, began to drive away while lowering the dump box. The box caught the power lines, broke the utility pole, and caused it to fall on a truck. Ralph Eiynck, 77, of St. Joseph was driving the truck and got trapped inside until the power was shut off by the utility company. Then he was taken to the St. Cloud Hospital by ambulance.

In the meantime, deputies noticed a gas leak in the house that was on fire. The home is owned by 33-year-old Jennifer Warnert of St. Joseph, but is currently not occupied because of the damage.

The power line crash is still under investigation.