Lutsen firefighters extinguished a grass fire on the upper side of Highway 61 on April 15 before it could set the woods on fire. Fortunately, the fire was contained in the ditch between the highway and the dirt access road that runs adjacent to the highway in Lutsen.
As Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and U.S. Forest Service firefighters and air resources battled fires throughout the state last week, Cook County had its own fire starts—fortunately quick response by local emergency responders have quelled three grass fires.
The first grass fire was reported at 4:55 p.m. on Thursday, April 15 near 5280 Highway 61, between the Caribou Trail and Clearview General Store in Lutsen, near Alfred Creek. The Lutsen Fire Department responded with two engines, which were needed, said Lutsen Assistant Fire Chief John Groth. “It was really windy and even though there was some water in the ditch, there was also tall, dry, grass. It was really cooking. We were lucky it wasn’t on the other side of the road where there are a lot of trees.”
Groth said the Lutsen Fire Department pumped about 1,500 gallons of water on the grass fire. A U.S. Forest Service fire crew also responded and confirmed that the fire was completely extinguished; handchecking the soil to ensure the fire was completely out.
Groth said the cause of the fire is unknown. It burned less than an acre along the road right-of-way, thanks to the fast response. “The guys did a great job,” said Groth.
The second grass fire was reported on Friday, April 16 by Dan Fitzgerald of Grand Marais, who spotted the fire while walking his dog. He called Cook County Law Enforcement to report a grass fire at 183 Sag Lake Trail at 7:31 p.m. Gunflint Trail Fire Department firefighters Sue Prom and Michael Valentini were nearby and they responded, knocking the fire down with hand tools. Gunflint Fire Chief Mike Prom said the two volunteers had the fire “pretty much out” by the time the fire department arrived with its new tactical tanker to mop up.
Prom said the cause of the fire was a downed power line. He said a tree fell on the line, bringing down the line and causing sparks, which ignited the dry grass. He said the ground was mostly exposed ledge rock so the fire did not have too much fuel. “It burned way less than an acre,” said Prom.
A U.S. Forest Service Beaver airplane spotted another fire at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 18 east of Grand Marais, off of the Linnell Road. As the page went out to Colvill and Hovland Fire Departments, DNR firefighter Aaron Mielke was already mobilizing his team, having heard the Beaver’s fire report. Alex Brothen of Grand Marais DNR Forestry said the DNR responded with two engines, a Type 6 engine, a wildfire engine and a Type 7 engine, a 1-ton pick-up with water tank and hoses. The fire was about a half mile up Linnell Road from Highway 61.
Brothen said the fire was small, an estimated 1/10th of an acre. It took about a half hour to extinguish the grass fire.
The MN Incident Command System (MNICS), an interagency effort to keep the public informed of wildfires in the state of MN reminds everyone that fire danger is currently “very high.” Under current conditions, fires could start very easily and spread very rapidly.
The MN Incident Command System consists of representation from the MN Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the MN Department of Public Safety-Homeland Security & Emergency Management.
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