A powerful storm downed trees throughout the area.
By Tim Harlow Star Tribune
June 20, 2016 — 9:21am
A man camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota died Sunday night when a tree fell on him as he sought shelter from a powerful storm that rolled through the area, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was with a group of three others near Duncan Lake, which is about 30 miles north of Grand Marais, when the storms with high winds and heavy rain felled trees and knocked out power. Members of the Cook County Search and Rescue and the Gunflint Search and Rescue responded to the call which came in at 10:27 p.m., said Sheriff Pat Eliasen.
The four campers were trying to get out of the forest and down to the shoreline when the incident happened. A second man was also hit by the tree. He suffered severe injuries and was taken by ambulance to the Cook County Northshore Hospital and then to a medical helicopter, Eliasen said.
The two other men were not hurt, Eliasen said.
About the same time, a second call for help came from a man who was hit by a falling tree near Clove Lake on the U. S-Canadian border. That man suffered injuries to his upper body. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known.