Ham Lake Fire - Part 2

By May 9, 2007, we had been fighting the Ham Lake Fire for 4 days.  There had been multiple evacuations performed on the Gunflint Trail.  On May 5th, we evacuated the Round Lake Road.  May 6th, we evacuated the Gunflint Trail from the Round Lake Road to the end.  On May 9th, we evacuated the north side of Gunflint Lake.

May 7th and 8th, we went back to the end of the Gunflint Trail to attempt to save as many structures as possible (although many of them had already gone down).  On one of those days, we had a very calm morning, and about 11:00 PM, flames rose rapidly into the air.  

The Meteorologist on the fire had predicted that we would hit the trigger points at that time, and he was right on.  Trigger points have to do with relative humidity (below 20%), temperature (above 80 Fahrenheit), and wind (above 20 miles per hour).  When those three things occurred, the fire exploded.

Fire activity at the end of the Gunflint Trail increased first.  Don and I were with Engine 583 on the Round Lake Road, when we got called to the end of the Gunflint Trail.  Almost as soon as we got there, we were called back, because fire activity was increasing on the Round Lake Road.  On the way back, Don cut up a tree across the Gunflint Trail, and I put out the fire at the base.  Laura (our EMS Chief) stopped by and put lunches in our truck.

I also remember seeing a lot of fire around Chik-Wauk Lodge.  At the time, it was being restored by the Gunflint Trail Historical Society.  The old roof had been removed, and the new roof was covered with tar paper.  Several fire crews were working on the fire as we passed.  The building did survive the fire, and a few years later, opened as the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.  If you are ever up near the end of the Gunflint Trail in the summer months, it is definitely worth checking out.

When we got down to the Round Lake Road, flames were heading towards the Round Lake Public Landing.  Forest Service Crews were there planning a back burn.  A back burn is a type of prescribed fire in which you are literally fighting fire with fire.  The area between the firefighters and the fire is burned before the main fire goes through, removing the fuel.  A fire needs three things to exist: oxygen, fuel, and heat.  If one of those three is missing, the fire goes out.  The decision to perform a back burn is only made by the Incident Commander, and is carried out by extremely experienced firefighters.  The forest service lit the fire with drip torches, and it was effective.

By May 9th, the Ham Lake Fire had come to Gunflint Lake.  A decision was made to perform a prescribed burn on the northwest corner of the lake.  Two parallel fires were lit, one by hotshot crews on the ground, and one by a helicopter from the air. The fires burned into each other, creating a line with no fuel.

It was hoped that the prescribed fire would keep the main fire from jumping from peninsula to peninsula on the west side of the lake, and destroying many of the structures around there.  At risk were four resorts, and many residences.

We were put in reserve in the Cross River Gravel Pit in case things didn't go as planned.  For the first time in the Ham Lake Fire, I had a chance to take some pictures.

de Havilland DHC - 2 Beaver
These aircraft  can be used for initial attack, but they only carry 100 gallons
of water, so they are used for reconnaissance when a fire becomes large.
They also have the capability to act as an air ambulance in the wilderness.

Smoke plume from the gravel pit.

Sikorsky S - 64 Skycrane
There is a strong pump at the end of the hose, which when dipped in a water source, can full up the tanks in about 2 minutes.

Sikorsky S 64 Skycrane releasing  water.

Sikorsky S - 61 Fire King dropping water.

Engine 583 with fire in the background.

Smoke plume from prescribed burn.

Sikorsky S - 61 with bucket.
Several types of helicopters were equipped with these buckets.  The pilot would hover, placing the bucket in a water source.  It would tip over, and submerge, at which time, the pilot would pull up, and bring the water back to the fire.  When in position, the bottom of the bucket would be released, and the water dumped on the fire.

Two Sikorsky  S - 61 helicopters, with different methods of carrying water.

I climbed up a hill at the back of the gravel pit to get a perspective of the size of the smoke plume.

Sikorsky S - 64 Skycrane dropping water.

Sikorsky S - 64 Skycrane dousing the flames.

 The prescribed burn was successful, and many buildings on Gunflint Lake were saved.  A day later, the Ham Lake Fire ran down the north shore of Gunflint Lake, taking 14 structures, and causing the evacuation of the remaining residents on the south shore of Gunflint Lake.  Amazingly enough, a crown fire (in the treetops) can jump more than a mile (the average width of Gunflint Lake) by shooting burning embers (often birch bark or lichens) up on the updraft of the fire.  The wind then takes the burning embers ahead, and starts another fire.  Due to this leapfrogging nature of crown fires, the south shore was in major danger.

That night, I stayed at my home on the South Gunflint Lake Road.  The glow of the fire was visible all along the north shore, but calmed down enough for me to be in that location.  However, I did sleep with the fire truck in front of my house.

The following day, the fire hopped over the east end of Gunflint Lake, and formed a southbound arm which again crossed the Gunflint Trail.  I was on an engine crew to the east (Grand Marais) side of the arm.  When the flames had calmed down, we drove back up the Gunflint Trail.  It was the second time during the fire that I went down a road with the glow of flames on both sides.  I spent that night at Golden Eagle Lodge with a bunch of other firefighters from around the county.

Soon after that, I was assigned to sections of road around Seagull Lake on engine 583.  I'll talk more about that in the Ham Lake Fire - Part 3 article.