>> CATHY: WHEN IT COMES TO SUMMER TOURISM, EVERY DAY IS A CRUCIAL DAY FOR BUSINESS.

WE WANTED TO GET SOME MORE PERSPECTIVE ON THE ONGOING WILDFIRE DEVASTATION ALONG WITH THE ROAD TO RECOVERY.

JOINING US NOW, LAKE COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND ELY-BASED NORTHWIND LODGE OWNER, JOE BALTICH.

GOOD TO SEE YOU, JOE.

>> GOOD TO BE HERE, THANK YOU.

>> Cathy: I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WERE AT A RIEND'S PLACE ON LAKE VERMILLION, IS THAT RIGHT?

YOU WERE EVACUATED?

>> YEAH, MY WIFE ANNETTE AND MY OG GEORGE, WE WERE ALL EVACUATED, A WEEK AGO THIS PAST TUESDAY.

SO WE -- I HAVE A RESORT AND WE HAD A FULL HOUSE IN.

LOTS OF PEOPLE.

AND ON TUESDAY MORNING, AT ABOUT -- I THINK THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAME AT 7:00.

I HAD TO GO AROUND TO ALL THE CABINS AND TELL EVERYBODY, YOU GOT TO EAT, YOU HAVE TO PACK UP AND GO.

AND EVERYBODY'S VACCINATION VACATION ENDED ABRUPTLY.

A LOT OF PEOPLE TOOK IT ALL IN STRIDE.

BUT HERE WAS SOME WIDE-EYED STUFF GOING ON TOO, BECAUSE THERE WERE KIND OF NERVOUS.

THE AY BEFORE WE HAD BIG COLUMNS OF SMOKE TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT DOWN AT OUR BEACH, AND THEY WERE NOWHERE NEAR US BUT BECAUSE IT WAS SO HOT, IT APPEARED THAT THOSE COLUMNS WERE LITERALLY A HALF A MILE AWAY AND THEY WERE MORE LIKE EIGHT MILES AWAY.

AND SO IT TENDED TO RATTLE SEVERAL PEOPLE EXCEPT FOR ONE CABIN.

WE COULD NOT FIND THE TWO GENTLEMEN.

THEY CAME BACK LATE.

I PUT A SIGN AT THEIR DOOR AND SAID, HEY, WE MIGHT HAVE TO EVACUATE YOU IN THE MORNING.

AND COME MORNING, THEY WERE GONE AGAIN.

THEY WERE TROUT FISHING.

FORTUNATELY, WE HAD CELL PHONE, WE COULD CALL HIM AND SAY YOU GUYS GOT TO BUG OUT.

>> Eric: HOW MUCH ECONOMIC DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE TO WHAT I ASSUME IS A HEAVY TOURISM PART OF THE ECONOMY?

>> I'M IN LAKE COUNTY.

AND ELY, WE SPEAK ABOUT IT AS A REGION.

WHEN WE SAY SOMEBODY'S FROM ELY, IT'S A LARGE AREA THAT GOES FROM ST.

LOUIS COUNTY TO LAKE COUNTY.

AND SO FOR THAT REGION, WITH THE RESORTS AND THE OUTFITTERS, WE'VE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF OUTFITTERS WHO WENT FROM BEING, YOU KNOW, BUSY, PEAK SEASON BUSY, TO ZERO DOLLARS.

JUST ABSOLUTELY ZERO.

YOU KNOW, THEY'LL HAVE, YOU KNOW, 10, 12, 15 EMPLOYEES AND THEY'RE DOWN TO MAYBE ONE EMPLOYEE DOING WHATEVER.

YOU KNOW, NOTHING ACTUALLY.

AND SO THE IMPACT TO THE AREA IS GOING TO BE MASSIVE ONCE WE SETTLE THE DUST.

I KNOW IT WAS EXPENSIVE TO MY RESORT.

PER WEEK IT'S GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE.

AND FOR THE WHOLE AREA, I BET YOU IT'S GOING TO BE -- I BET YOU IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE MILLIONS, MILLION-DOLLAR RANGE SOMEWHERE, BECAUSE EVERYBODY SHUT DOWN.

I MEAN, FOR WHATEVER REASON.

YOU COULDN'T ACCESS THE BOUNDARY WATERS.

YOU STILL CAN'T IN OUR AREA.

JUST BECAUSE WE'VE GOT -- THAT FIRE THAT'S DIRECTLY NOTER FIRE THAT'S DIRECTLY N DIRECTLYF ELY IS QUITE LARGE, BUT IT'S MAINTAINING THE SAME FOOTPRINT, AND THE FIRE THAT WAS THREATENING US IS ALSO MAINTAINING THE SAME.

I'M MORE CONFIDENT NOW THAN EVER THAT WE'RE GETTING CLOSER TO THE END OF THIS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD ALL CHANGE WITH A BIG WIND.

>> Cathy: RIGHT, EXACTLY.

NOW, YOU PAINTED A PRETTY DISMAL PICTURE OF BUSINESS.

BUT YOU'RE A COUNTY COMMISSIONER.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE SPENT A LOT TOO FIGHTING THESE FIRES.

DO YOU SEE A VALUE IN TRYING TO CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS SAYING, HEY, LOOK, WE NEED A SPECIAL SESSION?

>> WELL, WE'RE KIND OF IN THAT SITUATION.

WHAT'S TODAY -- TUESDAY NIGHT, WE HAD A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING.

IN TOIME, AT THE TOIME, LAKE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TRAVEL AROUND THE COUNTY TO HAVE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETINGS AMONGST OUR CONSTITUENCY IN THE COUNTY.

BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS ABLE TO COME TO A COUNTY BOARD MEETING, SO WE GO INTO THEIR COMMUNITY CENTER.

AND AT THE MEETING, WE PUT TOGETHER -- WE CALLED IT AN EMERGENCY SESSION RIGHT INSIDE OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING AND WE PASSED AN EMERGENCY DECLARATION.

AND THAT WAS SENT RIGHT OFF TO THE STATE, ASAP.

SO WE HAVE TO DECLARE IT.

AND THEN IT GOES INTO THE NEXT STEPS.

I CAN'T TELL YOU ALL OF THEM.

I KNOW OUR ADMINISTRATOR PULLED THIS OUT AND HANDED IT TO US AND IT WAS NEWS TO ALL OF US, BUT HE SAID WE NEED TO DO THIS.

AND SO FROM A COUNTY STANDPOINT, WE'RE GOING TO BE -- WE'RE ACTUALLY -- MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE'RE MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR ON MONDAY.

THIS COMING MONDAY.

SO -- AND IT'S -- I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT -- ELL, NOBODY DOES.

I JUST CAME FROM A TOWN HALL AT VERMILLION COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN ELY WITH ROGER SKRABA AND GRANT HAUSCHILD CHILD, OUR LEGISLATORS, AND THEN A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE, RUKAVINA FROM THE IRRB, AND SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND MYSELF AND WE WERE DISCUSSING WHAT POSSIBILITIES EXIST.

BECAUSE THERE ARE BUSINESSES, A LOT OF THINGS AREN'T IN PLACE THAT ARE READILY AVAILABLE TO THESE ORGANIZATIONS, BUT EVERYBODY'S LOOKING.

AND FOR WHAT FITS.

AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME BUSINESSES WHO ARE SIMPLY GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF HELP.

>> Cathy: RIGHT.

I HEAR THAT.

>> BECAUSE ZERO DOLLARS IN THE PEAK SEASON, AND HERE'S THE OTHER PROBLEM -- >> Cathy: WELL, ACTUALLY, COMMISSIONER, I WISH WE HAD MORE TIME WITH YOU.

YOU ARE SO INTERESTING AND I FEEL BAD ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON UP THERE BUT WE GOT TO RUN.

TAKE CARE