Minnesota State Leaders Survey Damage From Wildfires

BRIMSON, Minn. –Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith visited the Camp House fire zone to take in the carnage firsthand.

The group first visited the Incident Command Center at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Two Harbors, and met with teams responding to the fires.

Governor Walz thanked the crews and volunteers, and shared his support to those impacted.

“To the communities impacted by these fires, they were fast moving. They were incredibly destructive. We have neighbors who lost their homes and their property, and this fire is still at this point in time, while being managed, is still very much uncontained,” Gov. Walz said.

In less than a week the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires have grown to over 30,000 acres between the two.

“As usual, northern Minnesota is up to the task strong, and while these fires are not yet contained, we are doing everything we can because of the spirit of the people up here,” Sen. Klobuchar said.

Senators Klobuchar and Smith say they have contacted federal departments that can assist in fighting the fires as well as recovery.

“I am always amazed by the way I see these communities coming together, and also how I see the folks at the federal level and the state level and the local level all coming together, working in an incident command structure to make sure that we are as efficient and effective as we can in controlling these natural disasters. And that is characteristic of this part of the state, and wonderful to see,” Sen. Smith said.

The group then made the trip to survey the land around Brimson, during the trip the group stopped by Hugo’s Bar, which has turned into a 24 hour community hub during the fires.

“With all the donations coming in, I have a team of wonderful volunteers that are putting together grab bags, so the firefighters, or whoever’s out there, volunteers can just come in grab a couple grocery bags full of snacks, water, wipes, personal items, whatever and they’re ready to go for the day or whatever they need,” Jesse Willemark, Owner of Hugo’s Bar said.

Hugo’s has also remained open for regular business.

“It’s been all over the map, people stopping in here to talk about it and share stories, and we listen and we give hugs, and people are crying and people are happy, and you know, it’s everything you can think of,” Willemark said.

Representative Pete Stauber also visited the fire zone in Brimson. He said while the fires are still uncontained, it’s important to get a jump start on recovery help.

“I’m pushing to make sure that we get this funding right away. And the initial request came earlier this week, and FEMA is getting it out the door, so there was no delay, even while the fire was going. And that’s how we want our federal government to react to communities needs,” Rep. Stauber said.

Governor Walz also reassured that Minnesota has $50 million in a disaster contingency fund, which could help homeowners rebuild.

“It’s hard, and we certainly know that it’s going to be traumatic over the coming months, but the commitment to rebuilding is there,” Gov. Walz said.

While the fires are still uncontained, property owners were allowed temporary access in the evacuation zones on Friday to assess damage and gather essentials.