By Trey Mewes, Austin Daily Herald

AUSTIN — A Y Waste Removal’s repair shop burnt to the ground Saturday afternoon.

Lyle and Austin firefighters spent more than an hour battling flames at 13405 535th Ave. in rural Austin. Y Waste President and CEO David Yerhart said the repair shop, along with two adjacent garages, were a total loss.

“Everything’s gone,” he said.

No one was seriously injured.

Yerhart lives at the property and said no one was home when the fire started. Yerhart came back home from an errand in Albert Lea shortly before 1 p.m. when he saw smoke rising from his property. He waved a nearby driver down to ask for help and tried unsuccessfully to move a diesel truck near the burning building.

Though the diesel truck didn’t catch fire, Yerhart slightly burned his hands trying to climb into the rig.

“The heat had melted the battery,” he said.

Lyle firefighters contained the blaze to the repair shop and adjacent garages. Yerhart’s home and nearby buildings were unharmed.

“At least it didn’t take the house,” he said. “At least I’ve got my bed to sleep in tonight.”

Yerhart estimates he lost more than $200,000 in vehicles, rigging and tools, among other things.