2 days ago
Hugo's Bar still serving as community hub one month after northland wildfires
One month after wildfires began, Brimson bar is helping residents pick up the pieces
One month after wildfires began, Brimson bar is helping residents pick up the pieces
One month after wildfires began, Brimson bar is helping residents pick up the pieces
Four weeks after wildfires broke out in northern Minnesota, a bar in Brimson is finally back to looking like a bar.
Hugo's Bar became the command center for law enforcement and first responders during the peak of the wildfires.
"I do miss seeing all the firefighters and stuff," said Hugo's owner Jessica Willemarck. "That was really just an amazing thing to see."
Willemarck owns the bar with her husband Jesse.
They say since the fires broke out, more than 5,000 people have stopped in.
"We finally got to sit on our couch yesterday for a couple of hours and relax, and that's the first time that's happened probably in at least a month," said Jesse Willemarck. "We've been going 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, which, it's been that busy here from people coming in."
But, all the business didn't just burn out.
Hugo's continues to be the spot for people coming to check out the damage.
"We had, just last week, three or four different groups of people stopped up just to see Hugo's," said Jesse Willemarck. "They saw it on the news, to see the fire."
Other people are checking in on their properties.
"Lots of people sharing their stories and talking about the whole thing still," said Jesse Willemarck.
"A lot of people are out cleaning up, starting to clean up," said Jessica Willemarck.
The Willemarcks say just because the roadblocks are down and their back room is back in service, the community support has not stopped.
"There's still people that want to send stuff and help and it's just amazing," said Jesse Willemarck. "I knew that was coming as soon as it was a community thing. This is the best community in the world."
The bar is also selling t-shirts with all proceeds going to the Brimson Fire Fund.
