The high winds and lightning we have been receiving lately are a recipe for potentially dangerous forest fires. So far, one fire has started near Lizard Lake, which is just southwest of my place in the Loon Lake area. My wife and I were at a wedding this past weekend when it started, but we have been told that it was contained to less than 50 acres so far. At press time the US Forest Service feels very confident that it can be controlled. It was started by a lightning strike and they have been fighting the fire by means of airplanes and helicopters. The planes were dropping onto Gunflint Lake to re-fill water tanks over the weekend and even with the hard south winds, we cannot smell any smoke as of Tuesday, August 31.
The fire danger seems to be low with the extreme humidity, but a high wind can dry things out in a hurry. Especially a southerly wind that is packing a lot of heat. Theleaves are showing signs of being dry and are changing their color a little too early. They are stressed out from the excessive heat and lack of consistent moisture. The gravel roads are very dusty, which means it is not as wet as it should be up here.
Prescribed burns are usually done in the fall because the humidity levels are higher in the evenings with the colder temperatures. This causes a lot of overnight dew and makes it easier to control a fire.
The Lizard Lake Fire is either in a prescribed burn area or very close to one, which means the firefighters will usually take more of a controlling strategy opposed to completely suppressing the fire. I suppose it is cheaper to let Mother Nature start the cleaning up process. Fire is a natural part of the life of a forest. In fact certain trees like the jack pine germinate because of fire. Don’t get me wrong, I am a nervous wreck at the first sign of smoke and I want to save my home as bad as you do, but it is sometimes beyond our control. If you live in Key West, you can expect to eventually get hit by a hurricane; if you live in a forest it will someday burn.
Many preventative measures have been taken over the past 10 years since the July 1999 blowdown storm. Gunflint Trail homeowners have taken the advice of the Firewise strategy and cleaned up the potentially dangerous fuels around their property. That is why the slash pits at Cross River and Bearskin are filling up so quickly. Numerous successful prescribed burns have been done by the Forest Service in an attempt to reduce the amount of fuels, and most of the lake cabins now have sprinkler systems.
If you are still a skeptic of the sprinkler systems, you simply are not paying attention. I am one of those “show me the proof ” kind of guys, but without a doubt, sprinkler systems are your best defense as a homeowner.
A system could possibly save your cabin in the event of an evacuation. I do not have a good enough water supply to keep up with a sprinkler system, but I will put a couple of heads on my roof anyway. It might run my well dry or burn up the submersible pump, but if it saves my home it is worth it.
Cory Christianson, a graduate
of the University of Iowa, has
worked as a fishing guide since
2000. If you have any fishing
reports or stories to share, send
an email to: christiansoncory@
hotmail.com or call 218-388-
031.
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