BWCA fire

“May 6, 2007 8:54 pm US/Central

Western Gunflint Trail Evacuated Over Wildfire
(AP) Grand Marais, Minn. Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of the west end of the Gunflint Trail on Sunday due to a wildfire that had grown to 8,000 acres and advanced into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northeastern Minnesota.

Officials ordered people to leave the area along the last seven miles of the Gunflint Trail -- from the Seagull guard station north to the end of the two-lane highway that leads into the forest from Grand Marais.

Strong winds and low humidity helped the fire spread to the north-northwest. Firefighters were focused on protecting structures such as resorts and cabins along the Gunflint Trail and attempting to stop the fire from advancing to the northeast.

"Very, very little of it is contained, let alone controlled," said Carson Berglund, a spokesman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids. By 5 p.m. Sunday it was only around 5 percent contained, he said.

Authorities said they believed the fire started at a campsite on the northwest corner of Ham Lake, just outside the BWCA. It was reported around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. By Sunday evening, it had reached the Sea Gull Lake area within the BWCA, Berglund said.

A fire center statement said "most of Minnesota's resources are committed" to battling the blaze.

On the scene Sunday were two 20-person fire crews, with four more crews on their way. Aircraft fighting the fire included two heavy helicopters with water buckets, one land-based heavy air tanker, two CL-215 water-scooping planes with one more en route, and two light helicopters with buckets. Firefighters said the winds and thick smoke were making air drops difficult.

The fire crossed over the Gunflint Trail directly west of the Seagull guard station at 1 p.m., officials said. Power was shut off past the guard station and the phone line past the station was lost.

A 1999 windstorm toppled millions of trees in and near the BWCA, and Berglund said some of the fire had reached the blowdown area. Since that storm, prescribed burns have been conducted to reduce the fire danger. Sunday's evacuation triggered was part of a plan developed following the storm.

"The evacuation's a tough thing to do, but people there have been through that before and hopefully there aren't as many up there since they knew the fire was burning," Berglund said. He had no estimate on how many people were evacuated.

An evacuation center was set up at the community center in Grand Marais.

The area around the Tuscarora Lodge on Round Lake just west of Ham Lake was evacuated Saturday afternoon, but firefighters were able to save all the buildings in the area except for one small shed.

Northeastern Minnesota has been in a drought since last summer, and the federal Climate Prediction Center lists the area as being in severe drought now. No rain was expected for the next several days.”

“Now up to 8000 acres...this could impact many summer plans...”

“Oh, man. Not again.”

“Bad news for the canoes!!

We got stuck with a motorcycle flat tire several miles short of Gunflint Lodge back in '80.
We strung a tarp between the bikes and spent the night with a bazillion mosquitoes.

Pray for rain!”

“Wow, that's bad.”

“INCIDENT UPDATED: 2007-05-06 23:09:52 ET
Incident: Ham Lake Fire
Released: 2007-05-06 19:06:00 ET

Effective May 6, 2007, the Superior National Forest is closing the following Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) Entry Points to overnight and day use:

Entry Point 50, Cross Bay Lake
Entry Point 51, Missing Link Lake
Entry Point 52, Brandt Lake
Entry Point 54, Seagull Lake
Entry Point 55, Saganaga Lake
Entry Point 56, Kekekabic Trail East
Entry Point 57, Magnetic Lake
Entry Point 80, Lark Creek
This closure will be in effect until further notice. Wilderness visitors should contact the Forest Service office in Grand Marais at 218-387-1750 or their outfitter for further information on alterenate entry points.

These are some of the busiest entry points in the BWCA
last edited: 5/07/07 9:43:26 AM”

“Gunflint Trail Fire Blazes To 16,500 Acres”

“The fire has been declared 100% contained on the US side, but is still burning on the Canadian side. It is at a total of 75,851 acres. Most acreage reports either only show US acreage or Canadian hectares/acres.

The evacuation was lifted several days ago, and entry points have been opening up.

A current list of closures and an update on the Ham Lake Fire (Thunder Bay 37) can be found at
http://www.hamlakefire.com
last edited: 5/26/07 11:02:10 AM”