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CALLAWAY, Minn. — Despite all of the destruction at the Maplelag Resort , there is some optimism that the tower at the main lodge can be saved.
Instead of prepping for a knitting retreat scheduled for this weekend at the resort, founder Jim Richards sat in a lawn chair as firefighters from nearly a dozen departments worked to put out the massive blaze.
"I just can't believe it, you know. I'm still in shock," he said.
He was in the office Monday morning, Oct. 10, catching up on emails and reservations for the upcoming ski season when a loud sound caught his ear.
"I heard a pop and didn't think much of it, I thought the ladies had stumbled," he said.
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While the official cause of the fire has not been determined, Richards thinks it may have started in the laundry room.
Within minutes, flames were shooting from every possible direction out of the lodge, even rising above the treeline from across the lake.
Lost in the fire were hundreds of handmade skis, 250 stained glass windows and the world's largest collection of depot signs, according to Richards.
"I've lost so much. Unique things, and (a) life's work in smoke right now," he said.
Including 22 years of rebuilding.
The main lodge burned down back in 1999 when the boiler caught fire. He said the rebuild included more modern fire safety features.
"It's hard to fathom, it's just kind of unbelievable it happened," Richards said.
He founded the resort with his wife 49 years ago, and has turned it into a recreation destination known across the country for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and bike trails.
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"We are very unique. People come here from all over the country. Skiers know about us from Chicago, New York, Sacramento, L.A., where someone five miles away doesn't realize what we are," Richards said.
While his son and daughter-in-law run most of the resort today, Richards says he still works seven days a week, 12 to 15 hours a day, due to staffing shortages. That work will now be focused on canceling the upcoming ski season.
Many Twin Cities area schools used the resort for training camp.
"We had almost a full house for the winter, ski teams coming, Moorhead high comes up here, 60 kids," he said.
Richards wants the firefighters to know how much his family appreciates their efforts, saying "it is what it is," that there wasn't much they could do.
When asked if he will rebuild?
"Oh yeah, no question," Richards said.
