By Nathan Daggett / Assistant News Director

Two barns in Maine Prairie Township near St. Augusta went up in flames on Saturday. 

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and the Kimball and South Haven Fire Departments were sent out just before 6:30 p.m. to respond to the fire.  When they arrived, one barn was already burnt to the ground and the second one was fully engulfed in flames. 

Forty-seven-year-old Benjamin Fox of South Haven, the owner of the barns told deputies that he was attempting to burn one of the barns due to it being old and unsafe. 

Authorities say the second barn caught on fire as a result of the heat from the first barn’s fire.

Fox did have a burning permit, but not for the barns.  Fox was issued a citation for burning prohibited materials.

The Fire Departments were able to extinguish the fires and no one was injured.