Bde Maka Ska Building Deemed 'Unsalvageable' After Fire

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A structural engineer has determined the building that most recently housed Lola's on the Lake is "unsalvageable" and will need to be torn down after an overnight fire earlier this week.

The building, adjacent to Bde Maka Ska, caught on fire at about 4 a.m. Thursday. It took crews less than a half hour to put the flames out, but the damage was done.

Lindsay Freitag was planning on celebrating her birthday a few days early on the banks of Bde Maka Ska with some drinks and her boyfriend.

"We were going to hang out at the lake today and chill on the patio and get some drinks and kayak, maybe. It's sad, because we can't anymore" said Freitag.

When they arrived, they discovered their plans and decades of history were both gone.

Investigators believe lightning struck the pavilion that held Lola on the Lake early Thursday morning, engulfing the building in flames.

For now, restoration workers are securing the site to make sure none of the building's charred remains can get into the water.

Life is short and so are the summers in Minnesota. Lola owner Louis King is making the best of the situation he was forced into. He is working with two food truck companies to bring drinks and food back to the water's edge as soon as possible.

It's still unclear when the building will be torn down, as an insurance company still needs to come to take a look at the damage. The building will be torn down once an insurance assessment and investigation is complete.

The pavilion opened in 1930. Long before Lola On The Lake existed, the restaurant was known as Tin Fish for more than a decade. Lola On The Lake just opened for the summer season earlier this month.

"First and foremost, we're grateful no one was injured in the fire. We're all sad at the damage to the beautiful building, but park staff are working diligently to make sure that folks' enjoyment of Bde Maka Ska is not interrupted," Brad Bourn, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board president, said.

WCCO's radar shows that there was cloud-to-ground lightning detected around the time the fire broke out, but firefighters aren't ruling out anything. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.