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Northwest Herald

Lake in the Hills fire guts power sports storage building

Pole barn held boats, snowmobiles and PWC

An early morning fire on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at a Fox Valley Power Sports Inc., 8913 South Route 31, Lake in the Hills, severely damaged a pole barn housing boats and other power sports equipment.

A storage building holding snowmobiles, boats and personal watercraft at a Lake in the Hills business was gutted in fire early Wednesday morning.

An estimate for damage to the building and contents at Fox Valley Power Sports Inc. was not available Wednesday morning, according to a release from Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District Chief John Knebl.

Firefighters were called just before 1 a.m. to a commercial structure fire at 8913 South Route 31, Knebl said. When they arrived on the scene, firefighters found significant smoke and fire coming from a metal pole barn.

Due to the size of the building and the amount of fire, a dozen neighboring departments were called in to assist with fire suppression and water supply operations, Knebl said.

Crews initially entered the building, but after a partial roof collapse, firefighters were pulled out and put on an exterior, defensive attack to prevent the fire’s spread, Knebl said.

The fire was declared under control at 2:24 a.m., he said, adding there were no injuries and the fire remains under investigation.

An early morning fire on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at a Fox Valley Power Sports Inc., 8913 South Route 31, Lake in the Hills, severely damaged a pole barn housing boats and other power sports equipment.

Agencies assisting either at the scene or by covering calls during the attack include: Cary Fire Protection District, Fox River Grove Fire Protection District, Huntley Fire Protection District, Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department, West Dundee Fire Department, Carpentersville Fire Department, Barrington-Countryside Fire Protection District, Lake Zurich Fire Department, Hoffman Estates Fire Department, Inverness Fire Protection District, McHenry Township Fire Protection District, Woodstock Fire Protection District, SEECOM Dispatch, Lake in the Hills Police Department and the Salvation Army.

Janelle Walker

Janelle Walker

Originally from North Dakota, Janelle covered the suburbs and collar counties for nearly 20 years before taking a career break to work in content marketing. She is excited to be back in the newsroom.