The impact of the fires isn’t limited to fire trucks in town and the smell of smoke from time to time.
Having much of the outlying area in some sort of evacuation zone has created a multitude of problems.
For one, people who live in a “Go” zone are allowed to stay in the homes, but if they leave they are not allowed to come back. This is true in both Lake and St. Louis County.
At a press conference on July 15, Lake County sheriff Nathan Stadler was asked about this issue.
“As a property owner in the United States, I’m not gonna make you go. I’m gonna tell you, I’m gonna strongly suggest that you need to go for these reasons. But if you choose to stay, once we’ve gone through there, there’s no guarantee that we’re gonna come back and look for you again.”
Fearful for leaving their homes and not being able to return for days or weeks, numerous residents have been holed up for over a week as of Thursday.
“Jim asked him what would happen if he goes into town and comes home. Sheriff said, it’s a crime and he’d go to court. We’ll stay home,” one resident reported.
On Thursday Lake County was allowing people to go to their properties in evacuation zones by police escort.
“Property owners and authorized individuals must present identification to verify residency, property ownership, or other authorized access.
“After check-in, participants will receive an access pass and be escorted by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies to their properties.
“Individuals must remain on their respective properties while within the closure area.
“Participants will be escorted out of the closure area by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies.”
“Upon leaving the closure area, participants must check out with Lake County Sheriff’s Office staff at the Fall Lake Township Hall.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all residents, property owners, and business owners for their patience and cooperation during this challenging time. Your safety and well-being remain our top priority as we continue to respond to this incident. We appreciate your understanding and support as response efforts continue.
No matter what the designation is for an evacuation area, mail is not being delivered by the U.S. Post Office. That goes for people in “Ready,” “Set” and “Go” evacuation settings. UPS and FedEx have also limited deliveries in the Ely area.
Evacuation settings haven’t changed for going on a week and no areas have been removed from the evacuation orders in the Ely area.
This past week the St. Louis County Public Works Department took their trucks from the Ely garage and moved them to Kugler Ridge.
The Michael Forsman Public Works building is a concrete structure located in a gravel pit on the east edge of Ely.
There also isn’t much for traffic in the Ely area after the Chamber of Commerce decided to cancel the annual Blueberry/Art Festival.
However, Whiteside Park was still a busy place on Tuesday night for the Ely Farmers Market.
The Whiteside Food Court, located next to the park on the east side, will be having vendors this weekend.
The Blueberry Bonanza is still taking place at the Ely Community Center today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and in Babbitt there will be vendors at the Birch Landing Art Fair in Central Park on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
