Resident escapes house fire with minor injuries in Kimball

The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says a Kimball resident escaped a house fire with only minor injuries on Saturday morning.

Authorities say, at about 9:34 a.m., deputies responded to a house fire on Elm Street South in Kimball. A neighbor called 911 and said the only occupant was out of the home.

The homeowner, Judy Anderson, 73, received minor injuries and was treated at the scene. She told officers she was using a cigarette lighter to burn a wood tick wrapped in a napkin and some nearby paper started on fire.

The home suffered extensive smoke and fire damage but the Kimball Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire.