BABBITT- The YMCA Camp Northern Lights lost its kitchen and bunkhouse building Sunday to fire. The 2,000 square foot Orion building caught fire sometime before dawn. According to a Babbitt Police Office at the scene, one of the camp’s staff called the fire into 911 around 7:10 a.m.
The Babbitt, Morse-Fall Lake and Ely fire departments responded to the fire. Upon arriving at the YMCA camp, the Babbitt Fire Department found the building to be a total loss and canceled the Ely department. 
Babbitt Fire Chief Tony Chamberlin told the Timberjay that structure was found burned to the ground. “No one was at the camp when it caught fire. It started burning way earlier. By the time we arrived, it was pretty much over,” Chamberlin said. “We investigated the site, extinguished the remaining fire, cooled the structure, and went home.”
Chamberlin commented that the structure was “too degraded” for the fire department to determine a cause. Both Babbitt and Morse-Fall Lake each responded with two tankers and an engine. Approximately 15 firefighters were on the scene.
A member of the camp’s maintenance staff told the Timberjay that the Orion building housed the camp’s kitchen plus several bedrooms.
The YMCA issued a statement Sunday afternoon, stating, “We experienced a fire overnight in the Orion building at Camp Northern Lights, which serves as housing for our leadership development program participants and our main kitchen. No one was in the building during the fire and we are grateful that everyone is physically safe. We are also thankful for the response and assistance of local fire departments,” said Michel Tigan, vice president of adventure and camp operations. 
“Our team is working through solutions to the challenges posed by this situation and we are making preparations for adapting to continue to serve our camp families. We are directly contacting all affected participants and families to work through specific details,” said Tigan. “We appreciate our community’s ongoing support of Camp Northern Lights.”