Structure fire reported at Papa Charlie’s at Lutsen Mountains ski resort

Updated at 7:04 pm

Papa Charlie’s restaurant, bar, and music club caught fire the morning of June 24, local fire officials confirmed with WTIP. Cook County Sheriff’s Office dispatch was notified of a structure fire at Papa Charlie’s at approximately 6:01 a.m.

The building appears to be a total loss, according to information shared with WTIP from local officials.

The fire comes on the same weekend as the Lutsen 99er bike race. People are being asked to stay away from the scene at this time.

In a statement sent to WTIP from Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen, “There are multiple fire departments on site at a fire at Papa Charlie’s in Lutsen for mutual aid at the request of the Lutsen Fire Department. The status or the cause of the fire are not known at this time. More details should be available later today after the suppression efforts are finished.”

Following the fire departments suppression efforts at Papa Charlie’s restaurant, Lutsen Mountains said in a social media post, “Sadly, we lost our beloved Papa Charlie’s restaurant today in a fire. We thank the six local volunteer fire departments that responded keeping the fire contained to the Papa Charlie’s building and keeping everyone safe.”

“All of our servers and network equipment were housing in that location, so resort communication will be limited until we can get that restored. We will update how this (will) impact operations as we get more information,” Lutsen Mountains said.

The Minnesota State Fire Marshall is the lead investigating agency and further details will be released as the process continues.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

WTIP Staff June 24, 2023