It is prescribed burn time on the Gunflint Trail and the smoke is haunting. Theactivity levels are unseasonably busy up here with Forest Service vehicles combing the area. The Sea Gull Guard Station looks very full and everything seems to be going well.
There are two separate burns taking place in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). One is near East Dawkins and Tucker Lake and is projected to burn just over 1,900 acres. The Banadad Trail is closed, as is the portage to Extortion Lake.
The other burn is about 1,600 acres and is in the Meeds Lake week beg area of mid Trail.
You could see the giant plumes of smoke this past week engulfing a lot of the sky, and making for some pretty cool sunsets. Silhouettes of helicopters and floatplanes skirted the giant smoke plume all day keeping a close eye on the progress. The smoke will clear out as soon as we get the expected rains and possible snow this week.
It would be wrong to complain about seeing some actual fall type weather in the fall, and to be honest, I think I am ready for some snowflakes. Just enough to remind me to get my butt in gear and finish cleaning up the yard by putting away the summer toys.
The overnight lows have been in the upper 20s lately and every morning there is a little more frost on the windshield. This time of the year is pretty safe to burn and the overnight precipitation levels aid in controlling these larger prescribed burns.
I know that any large fires are scary, especially when you can see smoke and sometimes ashes in the air, but as you already know this is all an attempt to deter a catastrophic firein the future. The 1999 blowdown storm left a lot of fuel in the woods. When I was working the Ham Lake fire many of the firefighters I spoke with agreed that we could see a much bigger fire in the future. Ham Lake was devastating enough; we do not want to see anything larger.
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters has an Internet blog site that talks about the scheduling for prescribed burns as well as locations and size of each burn at www.boundarywatersblog. com. There are not too many people camping anymore, but you could also find out about available campsites concerning the burn areas as well.
Cory Christianson, a graduate of the University of Iowa, has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@ hotmail.com or call 218-388- 0315.
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