The Grand Bear Resort home owners association is planning to rebuild the seven cabins destroyed in the Memorial Day fire. Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown says his discussions with the HOA have been about using more fire resistant materials. That would keep a fire from spreading so fast.
As for preventing fires, Brown says he already has authority to inspect grills. The Office of the State Fire Marshal says the fire started with a charcoal grill on a cabin porch. Brown says he’ll make sure outdoor grills stay away from the buildings that remain.
Mayor David Stewart doesn’t think the village needs to update its building codes for better fire prevention. He says he’ll defer to the fire department’s judgment.
The buildings that burned were wooden and close together. Witnesses said they watched the fire spread easily from one cabin to the next on a windy day. There are no fire hydrants in that area. About five dozen fire departments were called from miles around to haul five to ten million gallons of water from hydrants in LaSalle and Utica to the fire scene. And the paved road that led to the fire scene didn’t provide enough access. Many of the tanker trucks got there through a farm field.
Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown (far right) speaks to the Utica Village Board Thursday, June 16, 2022