The tent at the Seagull Lake Community Center fit 167 people and all of the chairs were full for the meal and the speakers who followed. At least 40 people sat in chairs or on the lawn outside of the tent so they too could hear the presentation about the devastating Ham Lake fire that took place 10 years ago on the upper Gunflint Trail.
More than 200 people attended the 10th anniversary of the Ham Lake fire held Saturday, May 6 at the Seagull Lake Community Center.
Called “A Celebration of Community: Remembering the 2007 Ham Lake Fire,” it was a chance for exchanging stories, sharing a meal, and listening to the speakers who came before the audience.
Held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., the event was hosted by the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and the Gunflint Trail Historical Society, with Michael Valentini acting as MC.
The Ham Lake fire started from a small ember left at a campsite. When the fire was finally put out one week later 75,000 acres in the Superior National Forest, the BWCA, and Quetico Provincial Park (adjacent to he BWCA) had burned. The fire produced a smoke plume estimated to be 30,000 feet tall.
All in all more than 140 structures, 94 of them residences, and an outfitting business were lost. The fire caused more than $10 million in damage.
This beautifully maintained Minnesota Department of Conservation Forest Service truck was on display at the Seagull Lake Community Center, site of the celebration to commemorate the community coming together to help put out the Ham Lake fire.
During the week of the fire more than 1,000 U.S. and Canadian and Minnesota Incident Command System people were involved in putting out the blaze. Leading the way were the local firefighters, especially those who lived on the Gunflint Trail.
It was noted that before the fire there were three distinct sections of the Gunflint Trail. After the fire the area had become one. Valentini said sprinklers installed by George Carlson for home and cabin owners saved all but one structure, and he surmised that fire could have started below the cabin and burned upwards, taking the structure before the sprinklers could be activated.
To learn more about the various people who played an instrumental role during the Ham Lake fire, listen to the excellent hour-long piece put together by WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs. You can get it online at www.wtip.org/
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