Authorities say a man has been charged with accidentally starting the May fire that destroyed a popular park pavilion restaurant on the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes.
According to the Hennepin County attorney’s office, Nouh Elmi, 23, was charged Wednesday with a single count of negligent fire causing property damage of more than $2,500. Elmi was charged by summons and will make a first court appearance on July 10.
According to the criminal complaint, the fire was started by the carelessly discarded coals of a hookah, a type of water pipe used for smoking tobacco.
The fire in the pavilion, which housed Lola’s on the Lake restaurant, started in the early morning hours of May 16.
Investigators initially believed the fire on Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun) was started by a lightning strike. But surveillance cameras showed a man and a woman near the pavilion. The man appeared to be sparking a fire as the woman stood by.
The images were publicized, and the woman contacted authorities and identified the man, Elmi.
The criminal complaint says the video also showed Elmi and the woman approaching Lola’s around 2:45 a.m. and then sitting down at a table near the pavilion. Elmi took a hookah out of a bag and then managed to light the pipe despite an approaching thunderstorm. About 20 minutes later, the video showed Elmi dumping the hookah’s embers behind several trash cans next to the pavilion.
The area was protected from the rain but not the wind, igniting a fire that destroyed the pavilion.
Damage was estimated at $2 million and the structure was recently razed.
