July 11 – An early morning fire at the Life of Riley Resort north of Cook on Lake Vermilion destroyed four buildings. The fire was reported around 1:30 a.m. Firefighters from Cook, Buyck, and the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade responded to the blaze. Initial reports said a gazebo near the lake was on fire, but when crews arrived, the resort’s store, game room, and bait house were in flames and total losses. No injuries were reported. The Tower Area Ambulance Service provided medical standby at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

July 9 – Multiple Iron Range fire departments were dispatched this morning to a report of building fire in downtown Virginia. The call came in around 10:55 p.m. in the 300 block of Chestnut Street. A building located between Rocks The Jewels and Pep’s Bake Shop had heavy smoke coming from the second floor of the two story building. Virginia firefighters arrived quickly on the scene and began an interior attack, but withdrew because of safety concerns. The fire quickly burned through the roof while crews engaged in an extensive defensive attack. Aerial apparatus from Virginia and Hibbing were positioned near the front of the building while another aerial rig from Gilbert was set up in the back. While firefighters prevented the fire from spreading into the adjacent buildings, the businesses in those buildings (Pep’s Bake Shop, Rocks The Jewelers, Virginia Floral Company, and Jue’s Chinese Restaurant and Lounge) had smoke and water damage. No injuries were reported, but a family cat perished in the blaze. Departments dispatched to the fire included: Virginia, Mountain Iron, Eveleth, Fayal Township, Gilbert, Hibbing, Biwabik, Biwabik Township, Pike-Sandy-Britt, McDavitt, Clinton, and Makinen. The Chisholm Fire Department was on standby at the Virginia firehall, while the Eveleth and Biwabik ambulance services handled emergency medical calls in the area. The St. Louis County Rescue Squad provided rehab services at the scene. Three people were displaced by the fire and were being assisted by the Northland Chapter of the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

This course is scheduled from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

July 4 – Three Iron Range fire departments were dispatched late this evening to a woodpile fire in Gilbert. The fire was reported around 11:30 p.m. in the 200 block of Nevada Avenue West. Gilbert firefighters knocked down the fire, but requested additional personnel and resources from the nearby Eveleth and Fayal Township fire departments. A nearby house sustained some damage to its siding and about two cords of wood were lost. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was linked to firework use. Submitted photo.

July 3 – A semi tractor truck fire and gasoline tanker spill this afternoon resulted in the closing of Minnesota Highway 169, about two miles west of Ely. The incident was reported around 2:15 p.m. when the brakes of the semi truck caught fire. The driver of truck was able to uncouple the tanker from the burning vehicle, however the tanker hit the ground, rupturing a 3,400 gallon pocket containing gasoline. Morse-Fall Lake Fire Chief Ted Krueger told The Northland Fire Wire that approximately 350 gallons were spilled and that local road construction equipment was used to help contain the spill. The remaining gasoline was transferred to another tanker truck. The highway was closed down for over six hours. No injuries were reported, but the semi truck was extensively damaged. The Morse-Fall Lake and Ely fire departments were on the scene. The semi tractor truck and trailer were heading to Ely when the incident occurred. Photos provided by Morse-Fall Lake Fire Chief Ted Krueger.

June 29 – The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of this evening’s house fire in the Palo area. The fire was reported around 8:10 p.m. in the 4900 block of the Townline Road. The house was pretty much engulfed in flames when the first Palo firefighters arrived. It appeared the house was vacant at the time. Fire departments on the scene included: Palo, Lakeland, and Colvin Township. No injuries were reported.

June 25 – A power outage caused by a feeder line problem, immediately followed by numerous fire calls, kept Virginia area firefighters extremely busy this morning. The action began around 11:30 when the outage occurred and a fire was reported in the roof air conditioning unit at the Super One-North grocery store on 6th Avenue North in Virginia. A fire was then reported at the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency’s Youth Foyer building on 12th Street South in Virginia, followed by a report of smoke in the Northern State Bank in Downtown Virginia. Firefighters also checked on smoke conditions in the bank’s processing center on Chestnut Street in the downtown area. All of the fire calls were minor in nature with all fire departments returning to service within an hour. No injuries were reported. According to Virginia Fire Chief Allen Lewis, a Minnesota Power feeder line had two phases burn out, causing the line voltage to go from 22,000 to 8,000 volts and from three phase to one phase current. This change resulted in overheated motors and HVAC units. The cause of feeder line problem remains under investigation. The Virginia, Mountain Iron, Eveleth, Gilbert, Fayal Township, Pike-Sandy-Britt, and Hibbing fire departments responded to the calls. “We got slammed,” said Chief Lewis. “The other fire departments really helped us out a lot. It was a great team effort on everyone’s part.”

A Virginia firefighter on the roof of the Super One-North grocery store.

Virginia’s Ladder 1 is positioned on the back side of the Super One-North grocery store in Virginia as firefighters check out the building’s roof HVAC system.

Firefighters exit the Northern State Bank in Virginia after checking out smoke conditions in the building.

June 18 – Around 60 acres of forest land was consumed this afternoon by a fast moving wildland fire just to the south of the Embarrass Four Corners area. The blaze started on the west side of State Highway 135, the result of power line brought down by high winds. The fire quickly jumped across the highway and began moving to the east. Multiple aircraft including: two CL-415’s, two CL-215’s, two Fire Boss planes, and two helicopters battled the blaze from above while crews from the US Forest Service, Minnesota DNR, Embarrass Fire Department, and Pike-Sandy-Britt Fire Department worked the fire on the ground. Minnesota DNR Conservation Officers, Minnesota State Troopers, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Deputies, and St. Louis County Rescue Squad personnel closed down Highway 135 and surrounding roads in fire area. According to a spokesperson with the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center (MIFC), the intensive aerial firefighting operation prevented the fire from spreading to a structure which was being threatened at the time. By 7:15 p.m., a bulldozer had managed to put a line around 70% of the fire. State Highway 135 was re-opened around 8:00 p.m. No injuries were reported and mop-up operations are expected to continue through the weekend.

June 11 – Five Iron Range fire departments were dispatched late tonight to a fire at the former Nichols Township hall, now known as Nichols Hall, in Mountain Iron. The fire was reported around 9:20 p.m. when a passerby spotted smoke coming from the building. The Mountain Iron, Virginia, Kinney-Great Scott, Fayal, and Pike-Sandy-Britt fire departments were on the scene. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

June 11 – One person was injured and around 30 people were displaced, the result of an apartment building fire in Nashwauk. The fire was reported around 8:00 p.m. at Deering Manor with the Nashwauk, Keewatin, Greenway, and Hibbing fire departments responding to the scene. The injured person was taken by Nashwauk Ambulance to the Hibbing hospital with possible smoke inhalation and burns. No other injuries were reported. A Nashwauk fire official told The Northland Fire Wire that the fire was in an apartment on the 5th floor of the five story building. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Northland Chapter of the American Red Cross was called in to assist those displaced by the fire.