Emergency peacetime order extended after storm devastates Bemidji area

Congested landfills and unprecedented debris from the storm that caused severe damage in Bemidji led to an extension of a peacetime emergency.

Gov. Tim Walz ordered the extension Monday after declaring the peacetime emergency Friday, a week after the storm left 27,000 homes and businesses without power. Winds up to 120 mph uprooted and downed thousands of trees that knocked out power lines.

It took a week to fully restore power to the area that will be cleaning up the mess for months.

“Beltrami County has run out of landfill space,” said Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Jacobson joined an emergency virtual meeting Monday with the Minnesota Executive Council composed of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor and attorney general. AG Keith Ellison was not present, but Jacobson attended to provide a quick update and reasoning for the extension.

The meeting lasted five minutes and members unanimously approved the extension for 30 days to provide storm recovery assistance. The county and Bemidji extended local emergencies for 30 days as well.

“What we’re seeing is significant concerns about damage, landfills, demolition landfills and so forth to manage the volume of debris,” Jacobson said, adding that the state will begin initial damage assessments after July 4th.

Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood said in an interview Monday after the state’s extension was granted that the biggest obstacle in the aftermath of the storm is the cleanup.

“Because the amount of waste that is coming in is unfathomable,” Sherwood said.

The peacetime extension will help cover costs with expanding pop-up landfill sites. One temporary landfill site opened near the Target store and more are on the horizon.

Traffic has been bumper to bumper and backed up for at least a mile at the landfill. That led to opening the temporary site near Target where a woodchipper was brought in.

“But that soon got overwhelmed and that chipper also failed over the weekend, and so parts were being ordered and arrived today,” he said.

The city and county are keeping tabs on expenses related to the cleanup to be reimbursed by the state.

Chris Muller, director of Beltrami County Emergency Management, said the state’s peacetime emergency extension allows for additional resources such as trucks for debris removal and staff. He said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is assisting at some waste sites.

“Our staff has been working endlessly,” Muller said. “They need a break.”

The natural disaster didn’t meet FEMA’s threshold for financial assistance. But Minnesota established a disaster assistance contingency account that can cover up to 75% of costs related to public infrastructure — not individual homeowners.

Walz said while touring Bemidji last week that the account has $24 million in the coffers that will recharge to $50 million in October. But the governor is concerned about homeowners’ insurance falling short.

Homeowner insurance typically covers when a tree falls on a house, but it doesn’t cover the cost for tree removal in yards, and that’s what most homeowners are faced with after the storm.

Walz’s executive orders notes that the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane displaced 100 people, damaged buildings, caused gas leaks and downed thousands of trees.

The United Way of Bemidji Area established a disaster relief fund to support local families and nonprofits in need.

Bemidji’s mayor and residents say the city will never look the same.