Fire destroys portion of North Dakota garden center, family home

A weekend fire that broke out at B & B Gardens, a floral shop and garden center in Oakes, N.D., destroyed a fresh floral shop and the owners’ home, located on the same property as the business.

Zasha Johnson, who works for the city of Oakes, N.D., knows the family personally and said firefighters were on the scene for four to five hours trying to battle the blaze and make sure there were no flare ups. There were no injuries reported, she says, but the home and shop are a “complete loss.”

“They did manage to save all of their greenhouses. They were supposed to start greenhouse planting today (March 3), but they are hoping to plant in a week or so instead,” Johnson says, noting there are about six greenhouses on the site. “They are going to try their best.”

The owners Chad and Reva Bohnenkamp also plan to rebuild the fresh floral shop, Johnson says. The business is more than a decade old.

The fire started at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, and the cause has not been determined.