Warrant reveals details of investigation into fire that killed Jessi Pierce, her 3 children

Investigators are taking a look at candles, extension cords, household appliances and a host of other items as they continue to investigate the White Bear

Can the Wild chase down the Stars for home-ice advantage?Can the Wild chase down the Stars for home-ice advantage?

Additional details included in a search warrant affidavit reveal the intensity of the fire in the early hours of Saturday, March 21, which the White Bear Lake Fire Department believes was not intentionally set.

As officers from White Bear Lake PD responded to the scene on the 2100 block of Richard Avenue, they could see “flames shooting up dozens of feet in the air” from adjacent streets. Once officers reached the home, “they discovered a fully engulfed house,” with flames “erupting from the center of the dwelling.”

“Intense flames, smoke and heat” prevented officers from entering the home to search for survivors.

When firefighters arrived, they also were met “with intense flames, as they tried to breach the front door to begin firefighting and rescue attempts, which prevented their initial entry into the dwelling.”

Jessi Pierce with her children: Hudson, 8, Cayden, 6, and Avery, 4.

As part of an early attempt to determine occupancy, officers called homeowner Mike Hinrichs, who said his wife, Pierce, and three children – Hudson, 8, Cayden, 6, and Avery, 4 – should be inside, while he was out of state and about to board a flight home.

Once the fire was contained, first responders found Pierce, 37, and the kids “in the main living area at the front of the address near the entryway,” per the search warrant.

Their official causes of death still hasn’t been released.

A public visitation for Pierce, 37, and her children is scheduled for Sunday, March 29 at Mueller Memorial in White Bear Lake.

Their deaths have sparked an outpouring of tributes from the NHL and Twin Cities media communities. Pierce was a well-known hockey reporter for NHL.com, as well as a co-host of the Bardown Beauties podcast and a personality for Twin Cities sports talk station Skor North.

GoFundMe raises over $60,000 for husband of NHL Reporter Jessi Pierce after tragic death with 3 kids in house fire

A GoFundMe fundraiser amassed more than $60,000 for Mike Hinrichs, the husband of NHL reporter Jessi Pierce, who died with her three children in a house fire on Saturday.

NHL reporter Jessi Pierce and her three children died Saturday in a house fire in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, officials and the NHL said. The White Bear Lake Fire Department said firefighters were called to a home on the 2100 block of Richard Avenue around 5:25 a.m. after neighbors reported flames coming through the roof.

Crews found the house fully engulfed when they arrived and later located an adult, three children and a dog inside, according to officials. The victims were identified by the NHL as Pierce, who covered the Minnesota Wild for NHL.com for about a decade, and her children.

“The entire National Hockey League family sends our prayers and deepest condolences to the Pierce family,” the league said in a statement Sunday. “Jessi loved our game and was a valued member of the NHL.com team for a decade. We will miss her terribly.”

Pierce’s death sent shock waves through the hockey world, where she was a familiar presence around the Wild and a respected reporter on the beat. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by state and local authorities.

A GoFundMe page titled “Support Mike Hinrichs After Losing Jessi (Pierce) & Children” says the fundraiser is intended to help her husband, Mike Hinrichs, cover funeral expenses and provide financial support during the family’s grief. The page says the family is facing “profound” loss and had raised more than $64,000 as of early Monday.