The village of Calumet in the northwestern Upper Peninsula is trying to find a way forward after a fire destroyed three buildings in the downtown area on Saturday.
The fire started Friday and burned through Saturday morning. It displaced 37 people, who are staying in, and being helped by, area hotels.
Village Manager Caleb Katz says that alongside the assistance of area hotels, that businesses and volunteers are donating food, clothing, and even furniture. He says the incident has shown him how strong residents’ bonds really are.
“Everyone’s on the same team up here and that’s something great about the western UP and the Keweenaw area, that everyone cares about each other and they all want to help out," Katz said.
Katz and other village officials are looking into getting state and federal financial assistance to rebuild.
“Our state representatives, local representatives and even federal representatives have been very responsive, very helpful and kind of listening to what our needs are, and I know that they’re going to be doing the best that they can to try to find us some sort of funding or money," Katz said.
Officials still don’t know what caused the fire; the site is being treated as a crime scene.