Fire destroys sauna on Devil Track Lake's South Shore Road

The Maple Hill and Grand Marais Fire Departments were called to respond to a sauna on fire on Devil Track Lake’s South Shore Road on February 4. Homeowners, Mark and Dawn Swenson noticed the fire and called 9-1-1 at 7:06 a.m.

When Cook County Sheriff Deputy Christopher Schrupp arrived on the scene, he reported that the parties were throwing snow on the sauna, which was fully engulfed in flames. The sauna was about 15 feet from their residence.

The fire departments and North Shore Ambulance were on scene by 7:20 a.m. but were hampered somewhat by the driveway narrowed by snow. Rodney Roy and Greg Olson responded with equipment to widen the road for fire vehicles.

At 7:47 a.m., responders said the fire was threatening a nearby woodpile. Working together in 7-degree temperatures, the fire departments were able to knock the fire down and leave the scene by 8:30 a.m.

The Swensons told the Cook County Sheriff’s Office that they had used the sauna the night before. When they went to bed, they noticed the wood fire in the fireplace of the sauna was smoldering, and they thought it was almost out. They went to bed and woke up in the morning to find the sauna building fully engulfed in fire.

Deputy Schrupp reported that the fire was so hot that it cracked the glass on two windows of the nearby house.