Massive Fire Severely Damages Maple Grove’s Lynde Greenhouse
A massive fire destroyed several buildings at a popular Maple Grove greenhouse early Sunday morning, forcing the business to close until further notice. Firefighters were called to Lynde Greenhouse and Nursery at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday after a passerby spotted the fire.
“This fire was really raging when first resources got there,” said Maple Grove Fire Chief Tim Bush. “It looked like a fully-involved inferno, really high flames.”
Numerous agencies responded after the fire went to a second alarm and then a third. A unit from Golden Valley, and then crews from Brooklyn Park, Osseo and Plymouth responded, officials said.
The owner of the center, Derek Lynde, a fifth-generation owner, did not want to speak to CCX News on camera, but was visibly shaken by the damage. According to the company’s website, the Lynde family started producing plants in Golden Valley at around 1900. The garden center has called Maple Grove home since 1971.
“It has a lot of special meaning to many people in our Maple Grove community,” said Bush.
Photo courtesy: Maple Grove Fire Department
Bush said the fire was made more intense due to the type of products stored at a greenhouse. Plastics, peat moss, and agricultural products fueled the flames, he said.
“It’s very much totally destroyed,” Bush said. “The auxiliary buildings where the heating plant was, some of their storage area and one of their large greenhouse complexes, it’s gone.”
No one was in the building at the time of the fire and there were no injuries, officials said. Meanwhile, fire investigators are trying to determine how the fire started.
“We have an idea of kind of the area where it started, but not a specific location. It’s going to take time,” Bush said.
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