Minnesota Forest Fire

[Ron Scott]

Minnesota Forest Fire. The fire has been burning in northern Minnesota on the Superior National Forest. Flame lengths here are greater than 100 feet.

[Tom]

Wow!   That's lighting up the sky.  :P

[Ron Scott]

Another photo from the fire scene.

[sprucebunny]

That's a great picture, Ron. Thanks.

Is there alot of acerage involved ?

[David_c]

Those pics are awesome.

[Gary_C]

Great pictures Ron. Do you know exactly where that fire is located?

There has been surprisingly little state press coverage of that fire. Last I remember hearing, they had it about 80 % contained thanks to some rain.

It is extremely dry throught Minnesota and Wisconsin. There have been some spotty rains lately, but we still are in the drought category. Northern Wisconsin has a complete outdoor burning ban.

I am just re-starting my job in Northern Minnesota and we are required to keep shovels and some water on site to try to control any accidential fire starts. Of course the DNR Foresters are carying their fire equipment but the cell phone coverage is poor, so we have to be able to provide the immediate response.

[Minnesota_boy]

I believe those pictures are from the Cavity Lake fire in the eastern part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), just west of the Gunflint Trail.  A quick Google search for the Cavity Lake fire will get you a bunch of information and lots of pictures.

Another fire in the BWCAW is the Turtle Lake fire.  It hasn't gotten much press coverage because it is in an are that is less accessable and endangers no cabins.

[Max sawdust]

I hope they get those under control soon.  I have never been up close to a forest fire.  Have been up close to several large marsh fires, with flames 50' to 100' high.  The power of a large fire is amazing.  I have a lot of respect for people who fight those beasts.
max

[barbender]

There is a huge amount of blowdown from a storm in that area around 8 years ago. There is a lot of controversey sorrounding this as the powers that be would not allow the area to be salvage logged becuase it is in the boundary waters wilderness area, which would have reduced the fuel loads. I read that typical fuel loads are in the 5-20 tons of fuel per acre, now it is from 50-100 tons per acre up there. This blowdown area covers around 570 square miles, so there is a lot of potential for future fires as well. A lot of this stuff is all piled up on top of each other, so it is not laying on the ground rotting, instead it is suspended and tinder dry. It's a real mess.

[Ron Scott]

Photos were provided by some of my USFS firefighter contacts. I believe fire was in the Boundary Waters Wilderness so there would be a high fuel load.

[beenthere]

Spectacular photo's.  The reflections off the water are erie and colorful.

If in the BWW area, didn't think there were any 'home's such as shown in the last pic.

Back in '52, I was on a canoeing trip north of Ely up to the Canadian border, and the remnants of abandoned shacks and cottages were scattered around, as a result of the Govt cracking down on people violating the rules and flying planes onto the lakes to fish and set up camps. Not sure just when they cracked down, but some were in relatively good shape with no way to move the things out.  Also lots of sign of horse logging during the winter months to remove wood. Apparently they'd go in and out on the ice and leave lots of chain, tools, harness and things that were buried in the snow and lost.

Probably the fires will do some good, and get a new forest in there to grow and blow down again in the distant future.

The CCC boys made lots of portage trails in the early 30's between lakes and rivers. Some were in pretty rough shape 20 years later when I was there at the age of 13. Lot's of fun, as I remember.

[Scott]

Very nice pictures, they look almost surreal. Its a real shame though, that looks like a really nice area.

[Ron Scott]

A Black Hawk helecopter is being used for "water dropping" in the fire fighting operation.

[jon12345]

Good thing trees grow back, and a new forest is more diverse than an old one. 

[Minnesota_boy]

Good thing trees grow back, and a new forest is more diverse than an old one. 

Actually, I think that the forest that grows back may be less diverse, but it is likely to revert to the white/red pine dominance that it was before.  The preponderance of fir, birch, white cedar, and underbrush supresses the regerneration of the pines.  This fire is likely to have removed these and also burned the duff allowing the pine seeds to fall on mineral soil where they have a better chance of sprouting.

We've seen islands in the BWCAW that have burned from lightning strikes in the past and they have regenerated primarily with white or red pines.

[Phorester]

I also took a canoe trip in the late 60s as a Boy Scout into the BWCA above Ely.  I remember crystal blue lakes we dipped our cups into for drinking water as we paddled along, knee deep mud on the portages and black flies by the thousands.  But an enjoyable trip overall.

Hope the powers to be were prepared for the result of not allowing salvage logging.  It's one thing to set up rules such as this, but you better be prepared to accept the consequences.  I'm sure the pretty forests up there have seen devastating fires before, and they will recover again. Maybe not to us human's liking for awhile afterward, but they will recover. And will probably be different that what was there before.  Forests are everchanging, most times slow, sometimes fast, but they never stay the same from one decade to the next.

[Ron Scott]

Also known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. On this fire, canoes are one method of transportation for the firefighters also.

[jon12345]

A state campground I visited here in NY a few years ago had been hit by a tornado, and they salvaged some areas and left others to natural succession with just a trail thru it so people could see.  It was pretty neat to see how the area was recovering and a good example of what could be done in an area where natural disaster had occured, and what happens when nothing is done.  ???

[Ron Scott]

The Associated Press:   On Tuesday, August 1, 2006, the Associated Press printed an article, Boundary Waters fires important to forest health.  The Cavity Lake Fire inside northern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area will provide a needed boost to the area's long-term environmental health, according to ecologists and forest experts. The scientists have long been concerned that the lack of fire in the 1.1 million-acre wilderness has turned a vigorous forest into a place increasingly vulnerable to wind damage, disease and other problems. They say that could spell long-term difficulties for an area that's a popular canoeing and hiking destination. Fire is considered critical to regenerating a forest, helping to maintain its natural cycles. They kill harmful insects, clear out dead trees and bush, and free seeds from cones so new pine trees grow.