The St. Louis County Board has declared both a state of local emergency and local disaster in the wake of the ongoing wildfires in the northern part of the county, near Ely.
The resolution was passed unanimously Tuesday in response to the ongoing situation and preserves the county’s ability to access federal reimbursement funds as agencies divert resources en masse to the area.
“We give a shout out, of course, to all the responders, whether federal, state or local. It’s been all hands on deck,” said county administrator Kevin Gray.
Gray said the board needed to take action and said wildfires “are not predictable. They’re sudden and our response needs to be quick and decisive and that’s what has been happening.”
County commissioner Paul McDonald of Ely agreed and shared a report about what he observed late Monday in Ely.
“I was fortunate enough to ride along with Sheriff (Gordon) Ramsay as we went about the areas on the Fernberg and also spent some time with the U.S. Forest Service with an update with many cooperators there.”
McDonald also stopped to visit with Morse-Fall Lake Fire Department and “we saw the actions they were having as well.”
Given the fluidity of the situation and rapid changes, both media outlets and units of government have utilized social media to provide updates to the public.
Ramsay had a lengthy social media post Monday evening, after a meeting at Forest Service headquarters where both he and McDonald were in attendance.
“To listen to that discussion and the findings of the day’s work, it’s amazing how everything comes together,” said McDonald. “There’s a lot of good, vibrant discussion.”
McDonald also noted the Ely airport is a hub of activity with planes taking off and returning to refuel.
“The main focus of the agencies is the fire itself and we’re looking forward to some relief with the weather,” said McDonald. “When it’s 101 degrees and 17 percent humidity it’s almost unheard of. During the meeting one of the Forest Service fire people said that what this fire did when it ran like it did, he’s only seen this once or twice in his entire career.”
Ramsay was scheduled to give a briefing during the Tuesday morning meeting but he was diverted into duty in the area and unable to speak via phone.
“We do appreciate all of the time he is putting in,” said county board chairperson Mike Jugovich. “He has literally been all over.”
Jugovich also thanked those who have responded to the area.
“Those boots-on-theground people, they make all the difference,” said Jugovich. “They are the real heroes.”
In addition to federal responders, the county has dispatched resources to the area and numerous regional fire departments have responded as well.
“When I was driving (to Duluth) for today’s meeting I saw numerous trucks heading up to the area to help with structure protection,” said McDonald. “I believe there were 17 different departments coming up to assist in the mutual aid part of it.”
