We finally got a super clear day with a Sentinel overpass and it shows the extent of the fire damage as of August 6th. Some sites I feared lost look like they might still be in good shape.

Copernicus Browser - Sentinel-2 L2A

Beartrap fire


Thumb fire


Sioux/Wolfpack fires


Little Knife fire

I was trying to figure this out yesterday -thanks for sharing.

Still some smoke just west of Wagosh and just east of narrows on Eugene. Anybody find more?

Thanks for sharing. I see a few favorite spots that may have survived, and a couple on the wish list that also may have been spared. I was hoping to do the Knife Lake area in late September and was looking forward to seeing Cherry. Whether or not I'm allowed in this fall, it's nice to see it likely didn't burn completely.

cowdoc: "Still some smoke just west of Wagosh and just east of narrows on Eugene. Anybody find more?"

I'm not convinced about Eugene but for sure the campsite on Wagosh is in jeopardy. Bummed to see that Sinneeg got toasted just west of there. Neat little lake.

It looks like a good mosaic for wildlife to survive and prosper. When the Pagami Fire burned the drought codes were over 600, I flew low over that fire in a helicopters while fighting it, It nuked everything including the willow stands, I rarely saw that happen.
I believe the drought codes for the fires around Lac Lacroix and Iron was around 350 when they blew up. Looks like the fire favored the pine stringers leaving the Aspen and wet areas.
We often used an Aspen stand as a safety area when fighting wildfires, they rarely burned in the summer.

LindenTree: "It looks like a good mosaic for wildlife to survive and prosper. When the Pagami Fire burned the drought codes were over 600, I flew low over that fire in a helicopters while fighting it, It nuked everything including the willow stands, I rarely saw that happen.
I believe the drought codes for the fires around Lac Lacroix and Iron was around 350 when they blew up. Looks like the fire favored the pine stringers leaving the Aspen and wet areas.
We often used an Aspen stand as a safety area when fighting wildfires, they rarely burned in the summer."

That this happened when envirotranspiration was near its highest most certainly mitigated what could have been.
Everything = , if this happened now compared to month ago area burnt would have greater and in early Sept much greater.

WhiteWolf:

That this happened when envirotranspiration was near its highest most certainly mitigated what could have been.
Everything = , if this happened now compared to month ago area burnt would have greater and in early Sept much greater."

I can see how this would make a difference, especially when we were right on the cusp of drought when they broke out. Envirotranspiration is a new one to me, and my searches only lead me to evapotranspiration, which I learned about in college and fire classes.

WW, are you talking about evapotranspiration? I'm not finding anything on envirotranspiration.#

Environmental transpiration refers to the biological process where plants absorb water through their roots and release it as water vapor through tiny pores in their leaves. When combined with direct evaporation from soil and water bodies, scientists call this total transfer of moisture evapotranspiration (ET)

Enviro transpiration just peaked here in IA about a week or so ago from all the corn/beans. It's what helps produce ungodly dew points in and around dense vegetation, and likely helped out certain areas of the recent fires, like aspen stands etc, that linden mentioned.
Not a botanist , but educated guess that early July in Bw/Q is close to their peak Enviro transpiration being the growing season is much shorter and less soil etc.

Well I learned something today, thanks WW.

Sounds like envirotranspiration is related to what we called synethesis (sp) in the prairie when in a short period of time you would see the native prairie plants change color in mid August in perpetration for dormancy.

Thank you! I signed up a the site also. Great information.

Thanks for sharing JD.

We stayed on Pipestone Bay on Basswood Lake in early June. It’s interesting to see some of the campsites look to be untouched by the fire while surrounding areas are burnt. I’m sure the gathering and burning of dead wood that occurs near campsites is a contributing factor.

faby3003: "Thanks for sharing JD.


We stayed on Pipestone Bay on Basswood Lake in early June. It’s interesting to see some of the campsites look to be untouched by the fire while surrounding areas are burnt. I’m sure the gathering and burning of dead wood that occurs near campsites is a contributing factor.


"

How did you get the campsite locations to show up on that map? I couldn't figure out how to do that.

NEIowapaddler: "

faby3003: "Thanks for sharing JD.



We stayed on Pipestone Bay on Basswood Lake in early June. It’s interesting to see some of the campsites look to be untouched by the fire while surrounding areas are burnt. I’m sure the gathering and burning of dead wood that occurs near campsites is a contributing factor.



"

How did you get the campsite locations to show up on that map? I couldn't figure out how to do that. "

Once I zoomed in far enough they just showed up.

Appreciate the link. The route from Knife through the Eddy Falls appears burned leaving the route through Bonnie to complete the loop through Kekekabic open. Anyone get a different read? (Had a 07/24 permit and working on plan B.)

Ha, guess I wasn't zooming in far enough. I see them now. Thanks!

I will do more later, but I overlayed campsites inside or in the proximity of the fire perimeters we have on the maps. Note: we need to update these perimeters as they aren't the newest.

These maps and images are extremely helpful.

Cool! I wonder if it will be safe to go from Ogish to kekekabic by sept. Well, safe is one thing, wise is another, lol.

Is envirotranspiration the scientific name for what we all know as "corn sweat"?

Here's a video of Pipestone Bay on Basswood:



Pipestone Portage:

jamotrade: "Is envirotranspiration the scientific name for what we all know as "corn sweat"?"

Yes!

Looks like the portage trail itself acted as a firebreak. Interesting to see that.

I doubt this opinion is shared by many, but I find a certain stark beauty in the aftermath of a burn. The landscape has been reduced to its most basic elements in form and shade. There's a simplicity to it that's oddly calming.

I camped in a recovering burn area a few weeks ago. It wasn’t bad. You could always catch the breeze. It’s a diffferent experience, but there’s still plenty to see.

Next time I’d just make sure I brought a couple of tarp poles since there are fewer trees to hang from AND less natural shade around. I’d probably tent it instead of hammock it because there aren’t a lot of big trees in and around the campsite.