July 22, 2026
Family, Friends, Guests,
Many of you may be following the current fire emergency in the Ely area. We wanted to provide an update of the situation as it pertains to WIlderness Bay Lodge and the Hotaling Family.
Over 900 fire and emergency personnel are working hard to mitigate fire activity. A Level One team of firefighters was assigned to the area emergency early this week. Personnel are currently working very hard along the Fernberg and all the way out to Snowbank on structure protection. In addition, Jay has been able to return to the resort 5 of the 8 days that we have been out, to run sprinklers and further fire prep the property. Fortunately, the fires are still several miles away from Snowbank Lake. We’re optimistic that structures at Wilderness Bay and Jay and Kaley’s home will be saved if fires pass through.
We are in peak fire season in Northeastern Minnesota, and the status of the fires is highly weather dependent. We have experienced quite a bit of warm, dry weather and some high winds. Fortunately, we did also receive some rain. The fire crews have done tremendous work in the last few days, given the unfavorable fire conditions. We are happy to report that the Camp Fire is now 23% contained.
The past week has been filled with much anxiety and uncertainty but we are feeling blessed in so many ways. We have experienced such an outpouring of love from friends, family, neighbors, guests. The Ely community has rallied to support each other as well as the visiting fire and emergency personnel. Yesterday Jay turned 49. Celebrating anywhere other than Wilderness Bay felt unnatural (and unprecedented) but surrounded by friends and family it’s hard to be anything other than grateful.
We sincerely thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support. We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
Love,
The Hotalings
We are corresponding only via e-mail at this time. We are constantly monitoring the area fire emergency. Because of the uncertainty of the situation, we are individually notifying upcoming guests about reservations on a week to week basis. If you would like to stay up to date on the current situation near Ely, Please visit the following links:
Wilderness Bay Lodge 