Fire
Industry News
Bryce Campbell, the owner of the historic Lutsen Resort Lodge in Minnesota, was arrested in Oakland County, Michigan, for intentionally setting the fire, which destroyed the lodge in early 2024. He was arrested in Cook County, Michigan, with three counts of first-degree arson and one count of insurance fraud. Cambell was taken into custody without incident and is pending extradition back to Minnesota.
The investigation took approximately 22 months and involved the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division, the ATF, the Cook County Sheriff, and others. “This was a crime of selfishness. Bryce Campbell put his interests above the livelihood of his employees, the safety of the people that were in the building at the time, and the community, setting this on fire for his own selfish needs and an insurance fraud scheme,” Superintendent Drew Evans, BCA, said in a news briefing. Minnesota’s BCA provides investigative and specialized law enforcement services to prevent and solve crimes in partnership with other criminal justice agencies.
Campbell was arrested on four Felony Charges:
- Count I – 1st-Degree Arson (Dwelling)
- Count II – 1st-Degree Arson (Knows person present in building)
- Count III – 1st-Degree Arson (Reasonable possibility person present)
- Count IV – Insurance Fraud (false representation/concealment on claim
Campbell is accused of intentionally setting fire to the historic Lutsen Lodge on February 6, 2024, as part of an insurance-fraud scheme while his businesses were drowning in more than $14 million in past-due and ballooning debt. As of early 2024, Campbell’s owed $466,96 in past-due invoices to 80 vendors, owed previous owners of Lusten Lodge $521,117, had payments on Superior Shores totalling $12.95 million, and business checking accounts were essentially empty. In August of 2022, Campbell raised Lutsen’s insurance coverage from $8.5 million to $11 million. He raised the insurance coverage for the lodge in May 2023 from $11 million to $13 million.”Like arson, insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. When people commit insurance fraud of any kind, every insured person in Minnesota pays,” Superintendent Evans said.
How the fire was started has not yet been determined. There is no “smoking gun”, and charges resulted from the totality of financial records, timeline reconstruction, location tracking, and physical evidence, including testing of water heaters/boilers and potential accelerant testing. The State Fire Marshal, Dan Krier, determined that the fire began in the southwest basement area above the boiler room and beneath the lobby. Still, the method by which the fire started is undetermined. The crime scene was highly complex, consisting of a three-story building that was burning to the ground with all debris collapsed into the basement. Investigators had to rule out accidental causes and ultimately determined the fire was intentionally set. “Our investigators have worked tirelessly from the start of this case to follow the evidence and bring the public answers,” State Fire Marshal Krier said. “Fire investigation is a complex science and takes time to gather all the facts needed to conclude.”
Facebook messages were found in the investigation, in which Campbell, on January 31, 2024, wrote “Just burn it” in messages about the $466,080.37 he owed the Canada Revenue Agency. On February 2, 2024, Campbell wrote “Burn it” in a message complaining about a hockey team’s stay. On February 5, 2024, one day before the fire, Campbell wrote again, “Burn it,” in response to a negative review. Six days after the fire, on February 12, 2024, Campbell messaged, “This is usually when I’d make my burn it joke…but karma didn’t like that…I’m gonna need a new line :/.”
Prosecutors allege Campbell was in a financial death spiral with no realistic way out, and had dramatically increased insurance coverage in the prior two years. He repeatedly joked “burn it” in writing, and six days after the total-loss fire, acknowledged that “karma didn’t like” his earlier “burn it” jokes. The fire is alleged to have been set solely to collect millions in insurance proceeds and escape crushing debt.
The historic main lodge building at Lutsen Resort was initially built in 1885 and was nearly 140 years old. Lutsen Resort claimed to be Minnesota’s oldest resort, and it was a popular destination for hikers, skiers, and people who love to soak in the majesty of the North Shore. “The loss of the Lutsen Resort Lodge has deeply affected this community with the loss of a historic place and the livelihoods it supported,” Cook County Attorney Jeanne Peterson said. “Mr. Campbell remains innocent until proven guilty.”
