Northeastern Minnesotans activate to support those affected by and fighting wildfires
The scene outside Hugo’s Bar Wednesday in Brimson was active as volunteers dropped off and organized dozens of food and drink donations for those working on the fire and those displaced by the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Reinforcements are arriving to help fight several wildfires burning in Northern Minnesota that have scorched about 58 square miles and destroyed dozens of homes. The fires are still 0% contained. Dan Kraker reports on the new fire crews and volunteer efforts to take care of them.
DAN KRAKER: A neighborhood bar called Hugo's in Brimson has served as a community hub amidst the wildfires. Now, it's also the central spot for distributing donated supplies. They're for the hundreds of firefighters and emergency crews who've descended on the area.
SUBJECT: So we've got fruit snacks. We've got granola bars.
DAN KRAKER: Erin Aho owns a candle shop in Two Harbors. She brought up $1,500 worth of donations.
ERIN AHO: We've gone through cases of bug spray, which you would think, being a fire, that they would be gone. But they are not. They are in full force.
DAN KRAKER: After Aho finished her delivery, she stuck around for hours to help organize and distribute everything that's come in.
ERIN AHO: You put a Facebook post out, and this is what shows up. You don't have to promote that we need help. You don't have to say, we're going to put your business logo on this donation. People are anonymous. They don't even want their names on the donations. They're coming. They're bringing what they need. And they say, what can we do?
DAN KRAKER: In a time of crisis, this tiny community has rallied around those who have evacuated and those whose homes or cabins have been destroyed. By Wednesday afternoon, about 150 structures had been lost, including many homes along Highway 44 near Brimson. Some residents literally drove through flames, crossing the road to escape. Still, St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay says some people did not want to evacuate their homes. His staff has spent the last few days trying to find residents who were unaccounted for.
GORDON RAMSAY: There was one elderly woman we were particularly concerned about. And fortunately, we found her alive and well in Superior. That's a concern. There's a lot of people-- we had one gentleman over on a lake that's-- it's still safe. But we talked to him about evacuation. He said, the only way I'm leaving this place is toes up.
ERIN AHO: Another concern is that a lot of people are anxious to check on their homes to see if they survived or to see what's left. Micah Bell is the Lead Public Information Officer for the Eastern Area Incident Management Team. It has come in to manage two fires that together are now being called the Brimson Complex. Bell asks people to stay out of closed areas.
MICAH BELL: We want to keep people out of there for two reasons, one, their safety, second of all, firefighter safety. If somebody is going down a very skinny road to go check on their hunting cabin, and the fire changes, and now, firefighters are coming out that same road, we have a problem.
ERIN AHO: Bell expects four elite hotshot crews from around the country to arrive soon to support the hundreds of firefighters already here. That and expected rain could help them start to contain the blazes. Dan Kraker, MPR News, Two Harbors.
DAN KRAKER: A neighborhood bar called Hugo's in Brimson has served as a community hub amidst the wildfires. Now, it's also the central spot for distributing donated supplies. They're for the hundreds of firefighters and emergency crews who've descended on the area.
SUBJECT: So we've got fruit snacks. We've got granola bars.
DAN KRAKER: Erin Aho owns a candle shop in Two Harbors. She brought up $1,500 worth of donations.
ERIN AHO: We've gone through cases of bug spray, which you would think, being a fire, that they would be gone. But they are not. They are in full force.
DAN KRAKER: After Aho finished her delivery, she stuck around for hours to help organize and distribute everything that's come in.
ERIN AHO: You put a Facebook post out, and this is what shows up. You don't have to promote that we need help. You don't have to say, we're going to put your business logo on this donation. People are anonymous. They don't even want their names on the donations. They're coming. They're bringing what they need. And they say, what can we do?
DAN KRAKER: In a time of crisis, this tiny community has rallied around those who have evacuated and those whose homes or cabins have been destroyed. By Wednesday afternoon, about 150 structures had been lost, including many homes along Highway 44 near Brimson. Some residents literally drove through flames, crossing the road to escape. Still, St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay says some people did not want to evacuate their homes. His staff has spent the last few days trying to find residents who were unaccounted for.
GORDON RAMSAY: There was one elderly woman we were particularly concerned about. And fortunately, we found her alive and well in Superior. That's a concern. There's a lot of people-- we had one gentleman over on a lake that's-- it's still safe. But we talked to him about evacuation. He said, the only way I'm leaving this place is toes up.
ERIN AHO: Another concern is that a lot of people are anxious to check on their homes to see if they survived or to see what's left. Micah Bell is the Lead Public Information Officer for the Eastern Area Incident Management Team. It has come in to manage two fires that together are now being called the Brimson Complex. Bell asks people to stay out of closed areas.
MICAH BELL: We want to keep people out of there for two reasons, one, their safety, second of all, firefighter safety. If somebody is going down a very skinny road to go check on their hunting cabin, and the fire changes, and now, firefighters are coming out that same road, we have a problem.
ERIN AHO: Bell expects four elite hotshot crews from around the country to arrive soon to support the hundreds of firefighters already here. That and expected rain could help them start to contain the blazes. Dan Kraker, MPR News, Two Harbors.
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