Last week Cook County residents nervously awaited reports on the Gaskin Lake Fire, which was spotted on Monday, June 13. At press time last week, the fire was approximately six acres—a relatively small fire—however, the community well remembers other fires that also started small such as the Sag Corridor Fire, the Cavity Lake Fire, and the Ham Lake Fire. Fortunately, the Gaskin Lake Fire spread very little and needed little wildfire response.
The fire was located on a small peninsula on the southwest end of Gaskin Lake, about 2½ miles southwest of Poplar Lake and just north of Winchell Lake, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). It was first detected by campers at about 8:00 p.m. on May 13.
U.S. Forest Service fire personnel monitored the fire with flyovers and a wilderness crew provided ground level review of the fire. The strategy was to allow the fire to burn to the south and west of Gaskin Lake while limiting the fire spread on the north side. On Tuesday afternoon, June 14, one small spot fire was detected on the north side of Gaskin Lake and that fire was contained with Forest Service water drops.
Weather conditions, particularly high humidity, helped keep fire activity at bay and it grew only slightly, to between seven and eight acres, before smoldering out. The ground crew that had been working and monitoring the site paddled out on Saturday, June 18.
Due to continued favorable weather conditions the Forest Service has placed the Gaskin Lake Fire in monitor status.
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