Grand Marais city councilors are still wondering about the future of the city’s burn pile following some recent complaints about smoke, and a visit from the DNR regarding an accumulation of “inappropriate” materials at the site.
Located off the Gunflint Trail near the water tower, the area has long been used by local residents and contractors to dispose of their brush. City Administrator Mike Roth explained that the Grand Marais Street Department, with the DNR’s approval, is called upon once per year — usually in the fall, when weather conditions are the most conducive — to burn the debris. In the long history of the practice, there have seldom been complaints about excessive smoke…until last month.
Roth said it was a rare combination of weather conditions and shifting winds, combined with an unusually large quantity of fresh tree limbs and branches left in the wake of a destructive windstorm Sept. 28, that conspired to create a large amount of smoke when the pile was torched Oct. 26. The pile was so large, in fact, that the city was forced to close it off and open an overflow pile at the Rec Park. Thatsite has since been closed.
The shifting winds and temperature inversion that brought the smoke south into town last month generated a lot of complaints, mainly from the school district and North Shore Hospital, Roth reported. Both said they were forced to turn their air handlers off because of the lingering smoke and haze, and the hospital has since sent a letter to the city asking that the brush pile be moved.
Roth told city council Nov. 9 that it was also learned that some of the
” smoke in question was created by the burning of materials behind the county garage at the same time. “So, not all of the smoke was ours,” he said.
Roth said he could think of nowhere else in the city that the burn pile could be relocated without risking the same potential smoke problems. He also noted that the Gunflint Trail site has been reopened upon completion of the burning, and there is already a large amount of “inappropriate” material accumulating. In fact, he said, there is probably “more junk than brush.”
Mayor Sue Hakes said she was visited by DNR officerAaron Mielke, who told her he was concerned about the junk that was being illegally dumped on the burn pile as well. Hakes said the DNR could close the site if the city doesn’t take measures to control what’s left there.
As a result of that notification, Roth said the city is looking at ways to control access to the site, such as limiting hours, making daily visits to check its contents, posting more signs or fencing, or adding surveillance cameras. No decision has been made as to whether the dump site will be closed or moved, but councilors have said during past discussions that they would like to see the city continue to provide the service as a convenience to residents.
In the meantime, the overflow brush pile at the Rec Park remains closed, and plans call for it to be divided and burned by the street department on separate occasions (in the interest of safety) when the weather permits.
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