Superior Residents Excited to Return Home

The evacuation order was lifted Friday morning at 6 a.m.

DULUTH, Minn.-  The evacuation order that had been put in place for a large area around superior was lifted at 6 a.m. we spoke with families heading home.

The Twin Ports Region teamed up to ensure Superior residents had a safe place to stay. Now the hustle and bustle continues as families head home. A lot of Duluth hotels were completely booked by Thursday evening as evacuees looked for safe places to stay. Some families checked–in with just the clothes on their backs.

“Yesterday we heard it could be days, then we were like oh no what are we going to do,” evacuees Delvecchio family said.

Others returned home to grab their pets and essentials. One parent we spoke with described it as a learning opportunity, showing his son what matters most.

“Kids are worried about toys, all their possessions and I said it’s all stuff, as long as we stick together we’ll make the best of it,” evacuee Jessi White said.

The Edgewater hotel was completely packed full of families, trying to turn the scary situation into a spur of the moment vacation from home.

“I was around when the benzene spill happened, I was about my kids age so rather than make it into a scary situation we wanted to just make it into a fun situation you know,” evacuee Jessi White said.

Although Friday was quite a splash of fun for some of these evacuated families, the scare from the explosion is still there.

“It was a bunch of black smoke and the ground shook,” evacuee Janaiya said.

“And then most of the ceiling in our school fell down,” evacuee Ariyana said.

The students we spoke with, attend Great Lakes Elementary, in Superior located close–by the refinery.

“Calming him down was a big thing, just reassuring him that everything was going to be okay,” White said.

Hotel crowds started dwindling down this afternoon, as families packed up to return home

“It just makes you appreciate your home more and you know gratitude for sure,” Taylor Delvecchio said.

Each family we spoke with, shared a different story, but all around gave praise to local responders.

As for little Ariyana mentioning the ceiling falling down at her school, we haven’t confirmed any damages there just yet but we can assume that everything is okay.