Shaw Local

No injuries reported in rural Utica residential fire

Fire was accidental, knocked down in minutes

August 26, 2025 at 5:03 pm CDT

An aerial view of emergency personnel from La Salle, Peru, Wallace, and Utica work the scene of a structure fire in the 800 block of U.S. Route 6 on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 near Utica. The incident happened shortly after 3p.m. (Scott Anderson)

No injuries were reported in a short-lived residential fire Tuesday afternoon in rural Utica. The fire is considered accidental.

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Emergency personnel from Peru, Wallace, Tonica, Utica and La Salle work the scene of a structure fire in the 800 block of U.S. Route 6 on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 near Utica. The incident happened shortly after 3p.m. (Scott Anderson)

Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown said first-responders arrived on scene at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday to the 800 block of U.S. 6, a single-family structure located just west of the former Lone Tree Inn. Fire damage was limited to an unspecified room.

“The homeowner was not home at the time, but found the fire,” Brown said. “The animals are all OK. We got the fire out pretty quick, within probably the first 10 minutes of us being there.”

A source or cause was not immediately identified.

Brown said 25 personnel were on scene from La Salle, Oglesby, Wallace, Troy Grove and Tonica.