Sad news.

"The Cook County Sherriff’s Office said the building was completely engulfed. There were no guests on-site and no injuries were reported."

Here is a Facebook post from Historic Lutsen Lodge confirming a "total loss to the lodge building."

oh no. so much history. the old wood lodges burn fast

Mocha: "oh no. so much history. the old wood lodges burn fast"

Terrible news. And something I often think about when staying in wood lodges, like many of the outfitters up there have. Many of which are themselves replacements for burned down lodges. Once a fire takes hold in a place like that there is pretty much no stopping it.

Thank goodness everybody made it out OK.

Good thing there were no guests at the time. Sounds like the fire started in the lobby. Will probably learn more once the Fire Marshall has conducted an investigation.

Lutsen

Freddy: "
Good thing there were no guests at the time. Sounds like the fire started in the lobby. Will probably learn more once the Fire Marshall has conducted an investigation. "

Smoke was reported coming from the floor in the lobby, so it may have started in a basement. Mechanical room or something. We'll have to see I guess.

Seems odd there were no guests. I wonder if that's just poorly worded and meant everybody got out before it was fully engulfed.

A terrible loss. My wife and I stayed there after our BRT trip this past August, which was a first for both of us. I'm glad we got to see it before this happened.

Read this as well this morning. By the time the fire trucks arrived, it was completely engulfed. Parts of the structure were still burning this motning.

Like losing a friend. Many memories of special birthday dinners, enjoying the lobby and the massive fireplace, Can't believe it. Just glad it appears nobody was hurt.

Hmm, suspicious.

Very sad news indeed. We stayed there many years ago in the winter. As I remember there was a huge fireplace on the main level. They said they will rebuild, and I hope it looks similar to the old place. The article said it has burnt down two other times. Thankfully no one was staying there at the time.

YaMarVa: "Hmm, suspicious. "

The lodge had previously burned down in fires in 1949 and 1951. Yeah... I can see a pattern.

Too bad for the loss.

bobbernumber3: "

YaMarVa: "Hmm, suspicious. "

The lodge had previously burned down in fires in 1949 and 1951. Yeah... I can see a pattern.


Too bad for the loss."

I know of enough people on the north shore who despise the ownership group and the changes they’ve made, so yes, this is a little suspicious to me. I hope it was an accident but I would not be surprised if it wasn’t.

Yes it’s a sad loss for those of us who have memories there.

plmn: "Seems odd there were no guests. I wonder if that's just poorly worded and meant everybody got out before it was fully engulfed."

The article in the strib said that because of the lack of snow business has been slow and there were no guests. They were expecting guests later in the week.

jhb8426: "

plmn: "Seems odd there were no guests. I wonder if that's just poorly worded and meant everybody got out before it was fully engulfed."

The article in the strib said that because of the lack of snow business has been slow and there were no guests. They were expecting guests later in the week."

None of them would have been buying alcohol:

“ Resort hasn't paid liquor taxes
Lutsen Resort has also been listed to the Minnesota Department of Revenue Posting of Tax Delinquencies Liquor, Wine and Beer Sales report since November.

“By state law, this means ‘no wholesaler, manufacturer or brewer may sell or deliver any product to these taxpayers while their names remain on the list.’”



Lutsen Resort failed inspections; cabin owners file lawsuits

Wow, YaMarVa was right, it is definitely suspicious. They seem to have been having serious problems. Failed fire inspection that still wasn't resolved, unpaid rent, unpaid contractor, unpaid liquor license, illegal repairs. And what are the odds that nobody was staying there and the fire evidently started in an area where the sprinklers didn't take care of it? I also noticed that the stories say an employee noticed smoke and nothing about the alarm or sprinklers going off. But that could just be an omission.

In any case, I don't see how anybody could NOT see this as awfully suspicious at this point. The Tribune all but said it outright. Sure hope not, it would be an even bigger blow if it isn't rebuilt.

An eletrical outlet was emitting smoke according to an employee who escaped the fire in an article in the star tribune. It's not unusual for a business to take time bringing its building up to code. It has to get bids and set aside cash resources for repairs and schedule the work. Apparently he owed local cabin and townhouse rentals up to 150k in payment for services. The lodge was definitely having cash flow problems. Just my two cents.

Driving home from work tonight, I heard on the radio that the area of the fire is now considered a "crime scene."

HighnDry: "An eletrical outlet was emitting smoke according to an employee who escaped the fire in an article in the star tribune. It's not unusual for a business to take time bringing its building up to code. It has to get bids and set aside cash resources for repairs and schedule the work. Apparently he owed local cabin and townhouse rentals up to 150k in payment for services. The lodge was definitely having cash flow problems. Just my two cents."

I was thinking about this, and it seems like this doesn’t necessarily mean the fire was of electrical origin. It could just mean that the smoke was leaking through the outlet from another part of the structure.

Soooooooo much speculation.

It is not being treated as a crime scene.
But the cause of the fire is being investigated like all fires.
Tom

Just saw this on the news.

Bad timing for the resort…or good if you believe the conspiracies.

This week right before the fire 4 lawsuits were levied against the resort for non payment of rental properties they managed in 2023.

Totally possible it is a coincidence. Probably the most likely scenario to be honest as they don’t owe huge sums for a business that size. But the timing is bad and there really is no excuse for the non payment.

Lutsen story

T

timatkn: "Just saw this on the news.


Bad timing for the resort…or good if you believe the conspiracies.


This week right before the fire 4 lawsuits were levied against the resort for non payment of rental properties they managed in 2023.


Totally possible it is a coincidence. Probably the most likely scenario to be honest as they don’t owe huge sums for a business that size. But the timing is bad and there really is no excuse for the non payment.

Lutsen story

T"

Yes, that total was $53K. They also had a judgement against them from a contractor for $126K in unpaid renovations last year, though I didn't find if that was paid or not. And then there were the unpaid liquor taxes since November. That amount is not listed but it's strange to not quickly take care of something that is going to frustrate guests and reduce revenue.

The three unresolved fire code violations appear to be for not providing inspection reports for the sprinkler and alarm systems, along with an emergency light.

Of course that's just the public information and there are two sides to every story. But I think it's safe to say that there are enough coincidences here that the investigators are going to be highly motivated and Campbell will have some explaining to do.

I ate dinner at the lodge several years ago when in the area. It seemed like a magical place and I had been planning on going back some day. The photo attached is from May 2019.

I do not know the real story but I am sure we will all learn soon enough. I know we all hope this was not a crime. If it is not, however, it would be the all-time champion in the League of Coincidences.

Mike

tumblehome: "Soooooooo much speculation.


It is not being treated as a crime scene.
But the cause of the fire is being investigated like all fires.
Tom"

As a follow up -- MPR reported that Cook cty declared the area a "crime scene" -- then this from WCCO a few days ago:

"This comes after officials with the Cook County Sheriff's department walked back an earlier statement that the area was an official crime scene.

They now say that press release, which was released to the public Friday afternoon, was worded incorrectly.

Here is their statement, posted on social media:

The cause of the fire at the Lutsen Resort Main Lodge is still under investigation." etc.

Are these the same owners that have multiple properties in the ski area? I got a very snooty feeling in my interactions with those guys 1 1/2 years ago.

We were there to ride the Alpine Slide. Tried using the bathroom in one place and they made me walk to another "public" bathroom because I wasn't a guest. You have to scan a qr code and fill out a form releasing them from any liability. We got to the front of the line with 7 people looking for tickets when we informed we all had to fill out the form. They didn't get our money and I'll never go back.