Firefighters, first responders, and law enforcement worked together to keep people safe and stop the fire from spreading to other buildings on a cold, windy Monday afternoon, April 13, 2020. More fire photos on B1. Photo courtesy of Paul Sundberg
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.
Nate Hingos, the owner of the Crooked Spoon Café called law enforcement at 1:19 p.m. to report a fire in the back of his restaurant.
Driven by strong wind gusts, the fire quickly overtook the Crooked Spoon and spread to Picnic & Pine and White Pine North as volunteer fire fighters from Grand Marais, who were first on the scene, and then units from Lutsen, Colvill and Maple Hill worked together to put out the blaze and keep it from spreading.
The Crooked Lookout, an enclosed rooftop bar added in the spring of 2015, burned first.
Also responding was the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office, North Shore Health Ambulance, Grand Marais First Responders, Cook County Search and Rescue, United States Border Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers.
Just before the first firefighters arrived on the scene there was a loud explosion followed by five smaller explosions coming from the area of the Crooked Spoon. Law Enforcement pushed back growing crowds of onlookers keeping them a safe distance away from the rapidly expanding fire. Only the alley separating White Pine North and Sven & Oles—plus prodigious amounts of water coming from firefighters’ hoses– saved the Sven & Ole’s building and the rest of the buildings on Wisconsin Street.
No one was reported injured in the blaze.
The city cut power to the area and brought in a backhoe to knock the burned structures down.
Although the fire was contained by 5 p.m., several fire fighters stayed on the scene for several more hours spraying water on the rubble as small flames occasionally rippled up from the ruin.
The next morning the backhoe filled dump trucks as some of the waste was hauled away. On Wednesday there was still a large amount of rubble that needed to be moved off the building sites, but a lot of progress had been made since the fire.
Wednesday morning, Mike Swindelhurst stood with his insurance adjuster looking over the scarred scene. Mike owns Set Out Printing, a T-shirt shop located adjacent to the three burned buildings. Even though fire hadn’t touched the building he is in, the sweatshirts and t-shirts in his shop had suffered quite a bit of smoke damage. Across Wisconsin Street, Sivertson’s Art Gallery also suffered damage from the voluminous smoke that had roiled from the burning buildings. Sven & Oles was also closed and being cleaned because of smoke damage. It was set to open on Thursday, April 16 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for take out.
Following the fire, Sid Backlund, owner of Sven & Ole’s had this to say, “We look at the pile of rubble where Picnic & Pine, The Crooked Spoon and White Pine North once were located and don’t just see the sad aftermath of this terrible fire, but also see the loss of three families’ entrepreneurial dreams, hard work and the toil it takes to be successful.
“Thirty nine years ago my brother Terry and I were in their shoes and have a pretty good idea what they have been going through as entrepreneurs. Knowing that, we also understand how daunting things must look as we never faced anything like a fire and it was tough at times for us. These “kids” are great, they are smart and they are resilient. We want to see Kelsey, Nate, Sara, Tyler and Jessica back on the block. We miss them big time!”
As for Tyler and Jessica Dean, who purchased the White Pine North business from Jim and Jackie Larsen less than four months ago, they released a statement on Facebook saying, “This morning was a morning like we’ve never seen here in Grand Marais before. The aftermath of yesterday’s massive fire is heartbreaking but we are beyond grateful for the incredible support of our community, our amazing customers and our selfless volunteer firefighters.”
“Many of you have asked how you can help. Right now the most simple answer is we don’t know yet. For now, feel free to subscribe to our newsletter so once we sort through everything and get our feet underneath us, we can let you know. Thank you again for all of your support during this time.”
When asked to comment, Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen replied, “This event was devastating for the business owners, their families and the rest of Grand Marais. Our hearts go out to the owners and our thanks go out to the top-notch emergency responders we have in Cook County. I have no doubt that the community will rally behind these business owners to assist them in re-building if that is the direction they want to go. We are blessed to live in this area, but even more fortunate to have outstanding friends and neighbors who answer the call when needed.”
Abby Toftey, Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux and Tina Hegg Ragway started a Grand Marais Fire Relief GoFundMe Page. In the first 24 hours it had raised $20,000 for the business owners, with $10,000 coming from Compeer Financial, a Farm Credit cooperative who partnered with Northland Foundation to facilitate this grant.
For now, the cause of the fire is unknown but the State Fire Marshall will undertake an investigation and release a report when completed.
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