Flames were shooting out of a Maple Grove home Thursday evening when fire department crews arrived and found the homeowner, a woman in her 70s who used a wheelchair, dead inside.

Neighbors reported the fire at a home in the 6700 block of N. Zinnia Lane around 7 p.m., said Maple Grove Fire Chief Tim Bush.

Flames were heavy and crews could not enter the home until they had fought the blaze from outside.

The homeowner lived by herself, the fire spokesman said.

"The fire was not survivable from the outset," Bush said.

Police and Hennepin County fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze.