March 6, 2019 at 5:44 p.m.
Fire destroys Three Lakes hotel, restaurant
Fire destroys Three Lakes hotel, restaurant
According to Three Lakes fire chief Dave Kirby, the fire was reported at about 10:30 p.m. and although personnel were on scene almost immediately, the fire stayed ahead of any efforts to contain it.
"It moved fast," Kirby said. "By the time we saw it and set up on it, it was on another (location) and then it was up in the front. It was moving all around fast."
Kirby said that because the building was built sometime in the mid 1960s or early 1970s, it wasn't required by the building code then to have a sprinkler system. The lack of sprinklers aided the fire's rapid spread, he noted.
"If it was (sprinkler equipped), we could be looking at maybe a room and contents, or if it were in a different area," Kirby said. "We'll be looking at that to see if that is something we can determine later today."
On Feb. 13, the town lost the 3 Lakes Diner to a late afternoon blaze. That was another fire that crews battled in bitter cold weather.
"It was another cold-weather fire and a big fire," Kirby said. "All of the occupants were out safe and none of the firefighters got hurt. Everybody was safe last night."
He said the conditions overnight were brutal fighting a fire that they could not get the upper hand on.
"It was tough because how it spread; every time we'd go to stop it, it was past us. Just one thing turned into another," Kirby said. "Then the ice, as soon as you get the water on the ice - because under the snow we had all that ice that fell before - it made things slippery."
He said because of how quickly the blaze spread, it quickly became apparent that the best the assembled fire fighters could do was pour water on it and keep it from spreading further.
"Well, it got to the point where it wasn't feasible to put somebody in the building, because it was moving that fast," Kirby said.
Although not the worst fire he's seen in his career, he said it ranks up there in significance.
"And then just a couple weeks ago, we had the cafe burned," Kirby said. "People have a lot of memories, whether it was eating or having a wedding here or a reception here or staying in the hotel. So, yeah, it will be a loss."
On Tuesday morning, just the Three Lakes fire fighters were still on scene, still pouring water on the building. Kirby said there is no idea yet what caused the fire. According to the Wisconsin DOT, U.S. Highway 45, which runs through downtown Three Lakes, was shut down for more than 13 hours while fire personnel were on scene.
"The state fire Marshall is here this morning and he has a crew coming up and the insurance companies are going to be here later this afternoon and they will be doing there thing," Kirby said. "They were conducting interviews this morning and when they are done with those, they'll be back out here with us. We'll be looking at different areas."
Departments that sent mutual aid included Eagle River, Sugar Camp, Stella, Newbold, Pine Lake, Lake Tomahawk and Pelican. In addition to help from the Oneida County Sheriff's Office and Three Lakes Police, the county Emergency Management Department provided a command post and assisted with managing the resources on the scene.
"That helped us with some logistics stuff," Kirby said.
Kirby also wanted to thank the Black Forest Pub & Grille.
"The Black Forest stayed open all night, and they had coffee, soup, along with the Three Lakes Auxiliary," he said. "And we've had several townspeople come by and say if you need anything, they are willing to go get us coffee or whatever."
On Tuesday morning, the Oneida County Health Department announced that the Three Lakes Sanitary District is under a boil water advisory due to a back flow issue that occurred because of the demand fire fighters placed on the system. There is a possibility of bacteria in the water system. Three Lakes is taking precautionary measures of sampling the system for bacteria, according to the OCHD press release.
"Bacteria may be found when drinking water is tested. Bacteria lives naturally in soil and in the waste of warm-blooded animals. Bacteria can also grow as a film in water pipes. Most bacteria are not harmful, but do indicate the possible presence of other disease-causing microbes (viruses, harmful bacteria and parasites) that are often found in soil and feces," the release said.
Until an all clear is given, the OCHD recommends Three Lakes residents use only safe water sources, which are:
• Commercially bottled water
• Packaged ice from an approved source is safe
• Water that has been at a rolling boil for 1 minute (CDC-Centers for Disease Control)
• A public water system that is in compliance. Please note that the container that is being used to transport the water must be cleaned or sanitized before filling it with water in order to keep the water safe to drink
• Water from a private well that has tested safe by a homeowner.
The release said that safe water should be used for the following purposes until the boil notice is lifted:
• Drinking, cooking, making baby formula, coffee, juices, other beverages or ice
• Watering pets
• Washing ready to eat fruits and vegetables
• Bathing infants, washing open wounds, or brushing teeth
• Rinsing dishes (or you may add 1 Tablespoon of bleach to 2 gallons of tap water).
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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