People are being urged to stay away from the site of a fire that destroyed a historic north shore tourist lodge earlier this week.
The Lutsen Lodge burned to the ground early Tuesday morning, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal is still trying to determine what caused the fire.
This comes after officials with the Cook County Sheriff's department walked back an earlier statement that the area was an official crime scene.
They now say that press release, which was released to the public Friday afternoon, was worded incorrectly.
Here is their statement, posted on social media:
The cause of the fire at the Lutsen Resort Main Lodge is still under investigation.
We apologize that we were not clear in our communication earlier today.
We are working to preserve the integrity of the fire scene and keep people safe by asking them to stay out of the area.
Anyone who puts their own safety at risk or enters a potential crime scene will be detained.
It is still too early to determine whether this fire started accidentally or was set intentionally.
We are asking the public to stay away from the area.
The area around the lodge was secured to limit access for safety concerns around an unstable fire debris and structural items, including chimney stacks. The area is also secure to preserve the scene for the ongoing investigation.
No one was hurt in the fire, as operators of the lodge say there were no guests booked for Monday night.
General Manager Edward Vanegas told WCCO radio on Tuesday they'll use the original building plans from the lodge as a guide during the rebuilding process.
The lodge building went up in 1951.
The original lodge was built in 1949 and burned down.
Images of the fire were captured by Tim Miller, who works at nearby Lutsen Mountain ski resort, and were posted by many media outlets, including WCCOradio.com.
Earlier this week, investigators with the State Fire Marshal's office reported that the last inspection of the lodge in July of 2023 found seven violations, four of which the property owner repaired.