Photo: The Associated Press

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - December 5, 2025

The owner of Lutsen Resort, Bryce Campbell, 41, was charged in Cook County District Court with four felony counts, including three counts of Arson-1st Degree and Insurance Fraud, following a fire that destroyed the historic Lutsen Resort on February 6, 2024. The charges, filed on December 3, 2025, are detailed in court documents that include a statement of probable cause from BCA Specialist Agent Steven Kirtzeck. According to the documents, Campbell "unlawfully, by means of fire or explosives, intentionally destroyed or damaged he building to defraud for pecuniary gain...where the value of the property or services stolen exceeded $35,000."

In a press conference held on December 4 by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, announcing the arrest, Cook County Attorney Jeanne Peterson stated that the complaint against Campbell is "merely an allegation, and that Mr. Campbell is innocent until proven guilty," before adding, "He has rights and is entitled to a jury of his peers."

Financial issues

The complaint identifies financial issues in Campbell's businesses, including over $14 million in "near-due and past-due" debts, which could provide a motive. This included over $466,000 in past due invoices to more than 80 entities, and a significant balloon payment of approximately $13 million that was due in June 2024. Business bank accounts held low or negative balances, and the resort general manager expressed concerns via email about being unable to meet the bi-weekly payroll of approximately $65,000 on February 1, 2024. Additionally, documents show that Campbell had increased the resort’s insurance coverage twice, most recently to $13 million in May 2023.

The complaint also includes multiple message exchanges between Bryce Campbell and his husband, identified in the court documents as "S.D.," that mention the idea of setting the resort on fire as a way to resolve severe financial problems.

These messages show that on January 31, 2024, during a discussion about a large business debt, Campbell directly wrote, "Just burn it." His husband responded by acknowledging the use of insurance payout to cover the debt, to which Campbell stated, "Works for me." Additionally, the exchanges show that the topic of "burn it" was repeated, including a message sent on February 5, 2024, hours before the fire started, when Campbell replied with the phrase to a message from S.D. complaining about a negative review of the resort.

Bryce Campball. Photo provided by the MN BCA, Oakland County, MI, jail

Timeline of Campbell before and after the fire

Authorities used surveillance footage and communication records to track Campbell’s movements and activity during the late evening hours of February 5 and the early morning hours of February 6, 2024:

• Feb 5, 10:45 p.m.: Campbell left his condo in Two Harbors for Grand Marais to meet with a person he had made contact with through a "phone application." 

• Feb 5, 11:52 p.m.: A white SUV, consistent with Campbell's vehicle, was identified traveling northbound past the Tofte General Store.

• Feb 6, 12:21 a.m.: A white SUV was identified driving northbound past Arrowhead Electric.

• Feb 6, 12:24 a.m.: The fire was called in to 911 by a Lutsen Resort employee.

• Feb 6, 12:38 a.m.: A white SUV was captured by a Cook County Sheriff's Deputy's squad video at the west end of Grand Marais.

• Feb 6, 1:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Campbell's husband (S.D.) called him "30 times and sent 9 unanswered messages" as the resort burned, with S.D. informing him that "the lobby is gone" and "It's reached the 3rd floor."

• Feb 6, 3:14 a.m.: Campbell returned S.D.'s call.

Conflicting information

After the fire, authorities report that Campbell provided multiple, conflicting accounts of his whereabouts on the night of February 5 and the morning of February 6 during the subsequent investigation. Initially, he told investigators that on the 5th, he went home, bought pizza, and went to bed. He later changed this account during a March 16, 2024, interview, admitting that he had stopped at Lutsen Resort for "at most five minutes in total" to pick up items from his desk. He said he entered through the west employee entrance door, which is adjacent to the basement where the fire originated. On February 12, 2024, messages between Campbell and S.D. showed S.D. expressing concern: "My concern is that they track your location through your phone and see you driving by Lutsen at around when the fire started around 12:30." Campbell said that he couldn't tell investigators where he actually was to avoid detailing his "extracurricular activities," which S.D. suggested could not "get in the news." 

Fire origin

The physical and digital evidence gathered focused on the fire's origin in the southwest basement, an area near an exterior door that was known to be unsecured. Investigators found evidence suggesting the fire was intentionally set, and efforts were made to obstruct access (an adjustable crescent wrench was "found wedged beneath the basement door, preventing it from being opened").

During a December 4 press conference announcing Campbell's arrest, Minnesota State Fire Marshal Dan Krier said that due to the complexity of the scene, authorities don't know how the fire started. He went on to explain that, with any fire, they look at all possible points of origin. The investigators were able to eliminate several sources of how the fire started, but others remain, such as intentional ignition. 

Court documents state that the fire originated in the area beneath the lobby where boilers and water heaters were located. A technician had disabled a leaking water heater days earlier, but Campbell, who staff described as "hands off" on mechanical issues, admitted to being in the basement on January 31, 2024, to turn on the gas valve to the disabled water heater. Investigators found that the "unit's cover, blower, and gas assembly were removed and disassembled near the unit—a condition the service technician stated he did not leave it in."

Possible evidence of accelerant

The investigation also identified a blue crystalline substance on components of one of the water heaters. Campbell’s internet search history included terms like "Sterno-fuel," "fondue fuel btu," and "swissmar". On January 19, 2024, the Lutsen Resort general manager texted Campbell, "The new Swissmar gel bottles came in. We did a test. Works great," to which Campbell replied, "Good!! Glad they came in after the insurance inspection lol". Swissmar Fire Gel has characteristics consistent with the substance found at the scene, which, although chemically inconclusive after combustion, could not be excluded as an accelerant by experts. 

Arrest announcement, investigation details

According to the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), state authorities coordinated with Michigan authorities to arrest Campbell without incident on December 3, around 1 p.m. Campbell remains in Oakland County, MI, jail pending extradition to Minnesota. MN BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a press conference on December 4 that state authorities were aware that Campbell was in Michigan (for personal reasons), which allowed them to work with Michigan authorities on the arrest.

 "This was a crime of selfishness," Evans said, adding that, "Campbell put his interests above the livelihood of his employees, the safety of the people who were in the building at the time, and the community that was there, and all of the Minnesotans who loved Lutsen Resort for generations across our state." He went on to commend the work of the BCA Financial Crimes Fraud Special Agents and Analysts who spent "22 long months rooting out the details, of Bryce Campbell's plan and scheme and how he carried it out." Evans also thanked many of the agencies involved in the investigation, including the Cook County Sherrif's Office, Cook County Attorney's Office, and the Lutsen Volunteer Fire Department who spent "days working to douse the flames." 

Later in the press conference, Evans, in response to a question, stated that the investigation wasn't initially or consistently focused on one individual, but that authorities looked at what happened and then worked through the individuals involved. He also stated that part of the reason the investigation took so long was to piece together Campbell's whereabouts on the night before and in the early morning hours of the fire. 

Addressing the conference attendees, Krier acknowledged the significance of the resort to those in NE Minnesota and throughout the rest of the state, retelling stories he heard from Lutsen Fire Chief and a retired fire marshal, both with significant connections and memories of the historic resort. He also thanked the community and its visitors for staying away from the scene to allow authorities to do a thorough investigation, and for calling in tips to help them gather evidence and find answers. 

Krier shared that many resources were devoted to the "incredibly complex" fire scene. "We had a three-story building completely burnt to the ground," he said, which he acknowledged takes a lot of time to sift through. Krier mentioned that at one point, eight of his staff, or 10%, were on site trying to figure out where the fire started, what possible reasons it grew the way it did, and what possible causes they could explore. 

Jeanne Peterson, Cook County attorney, during the press conference, acknowledged that while it has been 22 months since the fire, "we are only in the initial phase of the court process." The next step, including creating a timeframe for transporting Campbell back to Minnesota, is still being determined, according to Peterson.

The BCA and State Fire Marshal led the investigation with significant assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cook County Attorney’s Office. The Southfield and West Bloomfield, Mich., police departments assisted the BCA with Wednesday’s arrest. The Lutsen Fire Department provided significant assistance at the fire scene.