“All we have is each other”: Residents push forward over a year after Minnesota fire

BRIMSON, Minn. (InvestigateTV) - In May 2025, about 30 miles north of Duluth, a 27-year-old man decided to have a campfire.

The weather was record warm, windy and dry with Red Flag warnings in place.

That campfire grew into the Camp House fire, torching thousands of acres of forest and more than 180 homes, cabins and outbuildings.

In the year since, the devastated residents of Brimson have gotten an unwanted crash course in disaster recovery.

What they learned -- don’t rely on leaders in St. Paul and Washington, D.C. for help. Rely on each other.

As flames began ripping across the terrain, Diane Knaffla enjoyed what she thought was a beautiful day outside her home of 36 years.

“I’m sitting under the big trees here and next thing I know my brother and nephew are tearing up the driveway, ‘Diane you gotta get out of here there’s a forest fire’”, said Knaffla. “I walked out in front of the house. I didn’t smell smoke, but when I looked that way it was orange smoke.”

Fifteen minutes later, the sheriff arrived and said it’s time to go. She left with little more than the clothes on her back in disbelief.

“It’s going to be here when I get back,” Knaffla thought. “It’s going to go around me. And yet I started to cry because looking in the rear view mirror, I thought, oh boy.”

Where a century-old home and 1,500 pine trees once stood now sits a modular house and a field.

“I love the woods,” said Knaffla. “Sitting outside under my trees was perfect for me.”

Three miles down the road, the fire took just about everything on Eric Radke’s property except for his lake view, his sense of humor, and his better half of 50 years.

“All we have is each other now,” Radke said about his wife, Sue. “The house had been here for 125 years. Why now? We just looked at it and thought this is that beautiful house we bought to retire in and we planned to live out here as long as we could stay in this part of the country, and it was just gone.”

The fires were still burning nearby on May 15, when state and federal leaders visited Brimson, pledging help in front of TV cameras. That included Governor Tim Walz, Rep. Pete Stauber, and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.

However, as fire victims would soon learn, that funding was to rebuild public infrastructure.

When it came to their homes and properties, it was solely up to their insurance. And insurance wouldn’t cover the cost of hauling out debris and dead trees or installation of new septic mounds, which the county required most to do.

The cost of all of that was north of $60,000 out-of-pocket for many.

After the flames were out, locals we spoke with say the recovery effort wasn’t led by elected leaders, but rather neighbors helping neighbors, and one community member in particular.

“It was extremely traumatic,” said Brimson resident Mikala Schliep.

Mikala Schliep was relatively new to the Brimson area when the wildfire broke out. She nearly lost her life.

“Closed the trunk of my car and then grabbed my dog and we were out the driveway, and it was just walls of fire on both sides of us going out,” said Schliep. “I was just screaming. It was so hot inside my car and I can’t see feet in front of me.”

After making it out just in time, and her home somehow being spared, Schliep’s devastation came from seeing the struggles of those who did lose everything.

“I just saw how much the community needed help and we weren’t getting it fast enough, at least by my standards, so that’s when we kind of stepped in,” said Schliep.

She started organizing drives, with Hugo’s Bar becoming an early drop off site for food, clothes and other necessities.

When donations overwhelmed that location, Bassett Hall became a one-stop shop for fire victims.

Eric Radke said much of his current wardrobe came from Bassett Hall.

Once everyone’s immediate needs were met, Schliep’s attention turned to cleanup and recovery, finding wreckers and volunteers to help haul out debris and downed trees, doing a lot of the work herself.

“People need to replace their septic systems, people need trees removed, and that’s where we wanted to start getting those funds and that’s where we started the non-profit side of it,” said Schliep.

She launched Brimson Strong, a non-profit aimed at raising money, obtaining grants and disbursing the funds to victims who might otherwise be out of luck.

“I did the grant writing for that,” said Schliep. “And that’s like a little win for me. I am severely dyslexic, like the worst degree you can be. So writing and reading has never come easy to me, but I’ve always been a great storyteller.”

And so far so good. The non-profit has given tens of thousands back to Brimson fire victims.

“I got a check for $5,000 for that,” said Diane Knaffla. “I’m almost getting choked up because of all that she’s done.”

“I’m still pretty new to Brimson,” said Schliep. “This place is so special and the people here are so strong and that’s why I fight so hard for it.”

Schliep and other residents we spoke with say the Red cross, United Way and St. Louis County provided much appreciate help immediately after the fire, but could only do so much.

Residents tell Northern News Now they also appreciate Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar, who they say has stayed in touch with residents.

Zeleznikar tells us she’d like the state to provide incentives for timber companies to haul out and utilize partially burned timber. She said that would significantly bring down costs for fire victim cleanup.

Here is a QR code to donate directly to Brimson Strong.

As for the the man cited for starting the fire, he’s only had to pay a $175 fine.

However, at least one of the people affected by the fire we spoke with plans to take him to small claims court.

The State of Minnesota announced exactly a year after the fire that it would allocate $250,000 for victims of the Camp House fire.