MARSHALL — The Lyon County Board has approved tax relief for a pair of Marshall area homes that were destroyed last year.

The two affected properties include the site of a deadly gas explosion just east of Marshall, and a house on Marshall’s Main Street that was severely damaged in a March 2020 house fire.

At the Feb. 16 county commissioner meeting, Mark Buysse of the Lyon County assessor’s office brought forward two requests for local option disaster abatements. Property that is damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster or another type of accident may be eligible for a disaster abatement.

One of the disaster abatement requests Buysse brought to the board was from the Schipansky Family Trust, for a property along Minnesota Highway 19 east of Marshall. The property was the site of an Aug. 27 gas explosion that leveled a house and killed residents Gail and Nancy Schipansky. The estimated amount of the local option disaster abatement, based on the change in property value after the explosion and the four months of 2020 where the house was unusable, was $416.67.

The second disaster abatement request came from Thomas Ranfranz, for a residential property on the 900 block of West Main Street in Marshall. The property was the site of a house fire in March that severely damaged the building. The house was declared a total loss and was later demolished.

The estimated amount of the disaster abatement, based on the change in property value and the nine months of 2020 where the structure was unusable, was $219.

County commissioners approved both of the local option disaster abatements.