Tales of a Naturalist, Musician, Firefighter, and Radio Host: Boundary Waters Fires and the Gunflint Trail

*Please note that this article is not updated regularly. For up to date information, go to https://inciweb.nwcg.gov, https://www.wtip.org, https://www.boreal.org, and https://www.fs.usda.gov/superior.

The Gunflint Trail is currently on high alert due to the numerous wildfires in the area. Today is calm and relatively humid, which makes for slow fire growth. However, we have had a lot of wind in recent weeks coupled with our extreme drought contributing to massive fire growth of the somewhat nearby Ontario fires, the distant Greenwood Fire, and the nearby (10 - 15 miles) John Ek Fire. Other smaller fires are also present.

Due to the firefighting resources being stretched thin over the region (and nation), the Forest Service has made the unprecedented decision to close the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to all visitors. This was a very difficult decision for them to make, but one which was necessary for the safety of everyone. They are re-evaluating the closure frequently, and hope to have at least part of the Boundary Waters open again as soon as it is safe to do.

All public lands from the west-end of Poplar Lake to the end of the Gunflint Trail have also been closed to recreation. Every road is still open, and you can still recreate on private lands and lakes outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Resorts and private campgrounds remain open. The Iron Lake and Trail's End Campgrounds have been temporarily closed.

Earlier this week, a Type 3 team came in to take over command of the John Ek and nearby fires. Their incident command post is at GTVFD Hall 3 on Seagull Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail. A Type 1 team (highest level) has taken over command of the Greenwood Fire. Due to the size of the fire, and the immediate threat to structures, the Greenwood Lake Fire has higher priority for resources. There is not immediate threat to structures on the Gunflint Trail, but that could change soon.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department and the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department knocked on doors Monday evening from Loon Lake to the end of the Gunflint Trail informing residents and visitors of a pre-evacuation. We told people to be ready to evacuated, but that we were not yet issuing an evacuation order. After returning home, I starting gathering my irreplaceable things together, and getting my pets ready in case of evacuation.

The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department has implemented two evacuations in my time on the department. In 2006, we evacuated for the East Zone Complex Fires, and in 2007, we evacuated for the Ham Lake Fire. No structures were lost in 2006, and roughly 147 structures were lost in the Ham Lake Fire of 2007.

We have some advantages this time, especially the time to do a pre-evacuation notice. The Ham Lake Fire came in very fast, and was ignited close to the Gunflint Trail, so instead of "ready set go" we just had "go" for a significant part of the Gunflint Trail. We are currently at "ready" and hope to stay at that level and soon return to normal functioning of the Gunflint Trail. As we have been telling people, this is the time to prepare, and not panic.

Residents are being told to run their sprinklers, but to be sure to leave at least one 50 lb. propane cylinder full, in case of the burn over. It is recommended that you have two smaller tanks to run the pumps before the fire arrives. This makes the property significantly more resistant to fire. While no property is fire proof, it will be a lot more likely to avoid damage if the plants are still green and full of moisture. It also shows that the pump is functioning well. If you have questions, it is a good idea to contact the company that installed your system. In the event of an evacuation, you should start your pump before departing since the priority of firefighters is to get everyone out alive, then worry about structures.

Here are some pictures from the last week: