Cook County News Herald

Burned buildings should be cleaned up soon



The rubble remains of three downtown businesses— The Crooked Spoon, White Pine North and Picnic & Pine, should be removed in the near future, said Jim Larsen, owner of White Pine North.

Black and gray smoke filled the downtown area on Monday, April 13, 2020, as flames engulfed first the Crooked Spoon Café, and then the two gift shops on either side of it, Picnic & Pine and White Pine North.

Since the blaze, the remains of the buildings have been pushed into a large pile and the area cordoned off with orange fencing.

Larsen said each insurance company had the right to conduct its separate investigation into the cause of the fire. Two companies finished their queries with one saying they hadn’t completed their study, he said.

However, that insurance company had until June 4 to get an investigation done. After that, the fire marshal can sign off on the reports, and then the debris can be cleaned up, Larsen said.

“The bids are in to clean up the mess. We are hoping it will be cleaned up in the near future. No one is more unhappy about it then we are,” said Jim.

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