CLOQUET — The city of Cloquet's largest employer was forced to temporarily close and evacuate employees due to rising waters along the St. Louis River.
Sappi on Friday voluntarily shut down its paper mill, 2201 Ave. B E., as a precautionary measure, the Cloquet Area Fire District confirmed. Batallion Chief Jeremy Hutchison said there were no mandatory evacuations of the area ordered by officials.
"River levels are high, and there are a couple properties that are close to the flooding issues along the river, so there's some concerns," he told the News Tribune around 4:30 p.m. "As of right now, I'm cautiously optimistic, but I don't know the full forecast of what they expect anything to look like."
Multiple videos circulating on social media showed the unusually elevated river gushing through a dam and partially spilling over a breakwall behind the plant.
A handful of employees appeared to still be on site Friday evening and there were no reports of any damage. Officials at the Cloquet mill and corporate offices for the South Africa-based company could not immediately be reached for further details on the anticipated duration of the closure or its impact on operations and employees. The mill employs approximately 720 workers, according to its website.
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Temperatures will cool this weekend, with even some minor snow accumulations in the forecast. But the National Weather Service in Duluth warned that additional liquid accumulations of more than 1 inch will aggravate ongoing flooding issues along local rivers and creeks.
The St. Louis River at Scanlon, about 1 ½ miles south of Sappi, was at approximately 13 feet as of Friday afternoon — some 2 ½ feet above flood stage. The Weather Service, which issued a flood warning, said the river was expected to rise another foot by its expected peak Sunday morning, nearing the level at which it could impact buildings along River Gate Road.
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