As several fires burn across the state, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources cautioned forest visitors about the intensifying wildfire threat. Because of the current high fire danger, the DNR is expanding available support resources, including firefighting aircraft and heavy equipment.
Fire conditions change quickly and fire restrictions are in place in some parts of the state. For more information and maps, and to check fire conditions, visit www.dnr.state.mn.us/ forestry/fire/firerating_ restrictions. html.
After 13 months of drought in northwestern Minnesota, DNR fire managers have reported intense fire behavior, including willow brush torching with 30-foot flames and crown fires burning through the tops of aspen stands. Fires are spreading quickly through both green and cured grasses. Peat in ground deposits and organic soils are igniting quickly and burning deep into the ground, an indication of extremely dry conditions.
U.S. Forest Service Fire Management Officer (FMO) Patty Johnson also said the western side of Superior National Forest has more extreme fire conditions than the east zone but cautioned, “We are getting there.”
The News-Herald spoke with Johnson on Wednesday, September 5, the day after a lightning storm hit Cook County. FMO Johnson said the Forest Service had not spotted any lightning-caused fires yet, which was somewhat surprising. However, she added since some precipitation came with the lightning, it may take a few days to see results of lightning strikes.
As people head to the lakes and woods this fall, fire managers urge them to use caution by keeping campfires small— no more than three feet high by three feet across. People are advised to clear vegetation from around campfires, keep water available, attend the fire at all times, and make certain the fire is cold to the touch before leaving. Better yet, said Johnson, don’t have a fire at all. “If it’s a hot windy day, just don’t have a fire,” she advised.
At press time there were no campfire restrictions in place, but Johnson said above normal temperatures and low precipitation is predicted. “If it stays dry, restrictions may go on. We are not at the level of extreme concern,” said Johnson, “but we’re not out of the woods as far as fire this season.”
Failure to fully extinguish campfires, a common cause of wildfires, can result in the responsible individuals paying for thousands of dollars in suppression costs.
Fire at Greenwood Lake
Forest Service FMO Johnson confirmed that there was a fire at Greenwood Lake on Friday, August 31. Cook County Law Enforcement received a report of a fire on a “small island on the northwest corner” of Greenwood Lake at 2:39 p.m.
The Gunflint Trail Fire Department was paged and the U.S. Forest Service was contacted and dispatched a Beaver aircraft at 2:49 p.m. to size up the fire. Firefighters from the Gunflint Fire Department reached the scene at 3:09 p.m. and a U.S. Forest Service reached the scene at 3:32 p.m. Johnson said by the time fire crews reached the island it was “pretty much burned out.”
The island is about ¼ acre in size. The Forest Service continues to monitor the fire site from the air and with a ground crew.
Fires around the region
The thunderstorm that did not cause new fire starts in Cook County did do some damage on the western side of the Superior National Forest. To the west, the storm unfortunately produced lightning without a lot of rain.
New fire starts were discovered on Wednesday, September 5 at, or near, three lakes in the LaCroix District of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW)— Thunder, Beartrap and Hawks Nest. Firefighting crews have been deployed on those fires. Two other lightning strike fires were discovered at Wooden Lake and Saturday Bay of Crooked Lake on the Kawishiwi District of the BWCAW. At press time the fires were 1/10th of an acre, a single tree burning, with aerial attack in operation.
The Cummings Fire near Ely started September 2 and as of September 5 had burned 50 acres on a peninsula separating Otter and Cummings lakes. According to U.S. Forest Service Information Officer Becca Manlove, firefighting crews have made good progress in creating control lines around the fire. Assigned to the fire was one Type 3 helicopter and 16 firefighters. Manlove said additional work will be required on the northwest corner and a 10-person crew from Michigan had arrived to assist.
Firefighting was hampered because predicted precipitation did not materialize, said Manlove, but she reported that the fire was 40 percent contained.
Another fire is burning north of the border on Norway Point of Basswood Lake called Fort Frances #53. Canadian authorities report that the fire is at 12 hectares (approximately 30 acres). The fire is being monitoring by Canadian and U.S. aerial resources as well as a U.S. Forest Service ground crew. The Forest Service monitors reported that the fire was creeping to the north, deeper into Canada, clearing up ground debris and brush with only occasional tree torching.
Another fire was reported called the Cloquet Line Fire, a half-mile north of a gravel pit off the Cloquet Line, south of the southwestern corner of Cedar Lake. The fire, detected September 3, burned approximately a quarter acre and is considered contained. A ground crew continues to mop-up and monitor the fire.
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