Highway 61 along the North Shore of Lake Superior has reopened and wildfire evacuations have been lifted. It comes just in time for Memorial Day weekend and the start of the crowded summer tourist season in northeast Minnesota.
The busy thoroughfare that extends northeast from Duluth along the shore, linking communities and several popular state parks between Two Harbors and Grand Portage at the tip of Minnesota’s Arrowhead, reopened to traffic Tuesday at noon — shortly after the Stewart Trail Fire was declared 100 percent contained.
The road had been closed northeast of Two Harbors since the blaze erupted Friday afternoon, requiring drivers to take a long detour inland. The highway is a lifeblood for the region, both for locals and the throngs of tourists who flock to the shore with the high season starting this weekend.
“The fact that the highway is open and everybody can still come up north and enjoy all the things that they love on the North Shore, that’s a blessing to us,” said Janelle Jones, president of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce. “Businesses are still open, state parks were not impacted. We are open for business,” Jones said.
That includes Betty’s Pies, the landmark restaurant on Highway 61 just outside of Two Harbors that reopened Tuesday. It had been closed since the fire started last Friday. Owner Carl Ehlenz was at the restaurant that afternoon when his wife called to tell him the power was out at their home, down a long driveway behind the restaurant.
He went to check, and saw smoke and flames across the Stewart River at a neighbor’s property. Then he saw fire burning in the trees surrounding his home. “I’m like, ‘holy cow, this is bad,’” he recalled. He called 911. “I don’t think they knew it was on this side of the river at that time.”
Three minutes later, Ehlenz said, firefighters arrived. The sheriff came and told him he had to evacuate. He closed the restaurant at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Then he left and he wasn’t allowed to return until Sunday evening.
Ehlenz was shocked by what he saw. The fire had burned all the way to the edge of the large parking lot behind the restaurant. It jumped his driveway and came to within 15 feet of his home. But both his home, and the restaurant, were safe.
When the fire first started, the wind was pushing it toward his home and Betty’s Pies, Ehlenz said. But about an hour and a half later the wind switched to the north.
“And that’s what pushed it away from us and away from Betty’s and towards the North Shore,” he said. The fire burned about two miles up the highway toward the Silver Creek Cliff tunnel. It destroyed more than 30 structures, including eight homes and cabins.
On the other side of the fire, another destination pie shop and restaurant on the North Shore, the Rustic Inn Cafe in Castle Danger, has remained open for business throughout the ordeal. It also acted as a community hub of sorts and people are still dropping off cases of bottled water, food and other donations.
One of the restaurant’s employees, LouAnn Johnson, lost her home and nearly all her family’s possessions in the fire. Her son, Gavin, also works at the cafe. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $30,000 so far to help the family recover.
Rustic Inn General Manager Callie Hoff said people are also still bringing cash donations to the restaurant. Last weekend a group of people on a tour bus stopped for slices of pie. “When they heard about the tragedy, they actually passed a hat around the bus and collected over $450 for the Johnson family,” Hoff said.
“They are so appreciative, they can’t thank everybody enough for every donation,” Hoff said, adding that the Johnsons eventually plan to come back to work, as this stretch of the North Shore begins the long process of recovery.
