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09/11/2024 11:51AM |
Tony
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09/11/2024 04:03PM |
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09/17/2024 12:50PM |
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09/16/2024 05:44PM |
Wind Lake
Wind Bay to Wind Lake portage
Wind Lake to Washte Lake portage
Wind Lake to Moose Lake portage
The Forest Order closures include:
All campsites, portages, rivers, and lakes within the current updated closure order (see Exhibit A), including but not limited to 9 locations as noted.
The Forest Service has notified permit holders, cooperators and outfitters and is encouraging permit holders to seek an alternate area of the BWCAW or consider non-wilderness areas of the SNF (see below) for similar experiences. At this time overnight paddle and day use is not permitted in the closure area.
We understand that this will impact visitors, cooperators, and communities near the restricted area. This emergency closure is necessary for the safety of our visitors, our wilderness rangers and our firefighters.
Northern Minnesota continues to experience drought conditions, causing active and increasing fire across the landscape. Forest staff are managing suppression actions on the Wood Lake Fire with additional resources on standby.
Beyond the closures for the Wood Lake Fire, the Forest is open to the public and no other restrictions apply.
Read Full Detail
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09/20/2024 12:23PM |
This will be the final fire update unless there is a change in fire activity.
Current Status and Resources: Fire activity is minimal; smoldering and creeping in the duff layer. The fire received additional precipitation from last evening’s storm. Fire weakened dead and downed trees are widespread in the fire area, along with burnt standing trees with fire weakened root systems called snags. For safety of firefighters from the snag hazards, firefighters are not mopping up. Aircraft remain available if needed. The National Preparedness Level remains at 5.
Planned Actions: The White Mountain National Forest firefighters continue to monitor the north line of the fire, along with a local incident commander. All perimeter or containment lines are holding.
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09/17/2024 03:28PM |
jamotrade: "How do they determine whether it was human caused? From reading the posts it appears that it started on the island and that there is no campsite there."
We have lightning maps that will show all cloud to ground striks with lat and long. Anything not near a stike within the few days of an ignition will lead the agency to suspect it human caused. Even powerline fires are called human caused, basically anything that is not a lightning strike.
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09/18/2024 08:39AM |
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09/17/2024 03:05PM |
jamotrade: "How do they determine whether it was human caused? From reading the posts it appears that it started on the island and that there is no campsite there."
This was also the case with the Spice Lake fire last year, suspected to be human caused though not near a campsite.
Imho, it is arson.
There has been an uptick in arson related wildfires in recent history, not just in the US.
Imho again, a multitude potentially overlapping motives are present, e.g. ‘climate fear’ news headlines, federal government subsidies given to states which have fires (perverse incentive to mismanage forest land as a fire may be a net positive economically for the state), displacing people from their homes/land so that it might be bought by others, just to name a few.
That though is just my hunch, ymmv.
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09/17/2024 03:28PM |
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09/17/2024 03:33PM |
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09/18/2024 06:22AM |
Fire investigators would be looking for anything that might have been left behind to confirm human involvement or even rule it out. Remember Ham Lake? The origin campsite was mostly intact despite the severity of the fire and investigators reached it on the first day and started recovering evidence. d
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09/17/2024 03:31PM |
Someday: "JohnGalt: "jamotrade: "How do they determine whether it was human caused? From reading the posts it appears that it started on the island and that there is no campsite there."
This was also the case with the Spice Lake fire last year, suspected to be human caused though not near a campsite.
Imho, it is arson.
There has been an uptick in arson related wildfires in recent history, not just in the US.
Imho again, a multitude potentially overlapping motives are present, e.g. ‘climate fear’ news headlines, federal government subsidies given to states which have fires (perverse incentive to mismanage forest land as a fire may be a net positive economically for the state), displacing people from their homes/land so that it might be bought by others, just to name a few.
That though is just my hunch, ymmv.
"
More likely someone camped illegally…
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09/13/2024 08:25AM |
I thought I heard something about a possible fire somewhere around the North end of Burntside. Anyone know about this?
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09/11/2024 01:57PM |
It sounds like they are thinking it was caused by humans. It appears to be on NW part of lake. It is not clear if they are cancelling permits yet. They are asking for people to stay clear and change routes.
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09/11/2024 09:44PM |
Tony
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09/13/2024 06:21AM |
Wood lake entry point has been officially closed.
Closures:
Closed BWCAW Entry Point: #26-Wood Lake.
Closed Lakes: Wood, Hula, Good, Indiana, Wind Bay (Basswood Lake), Wind Lake, and Washte Lakes
Closed Portages: Wood Lake Entry Point Parking Lot to Wood Lake, Wood Lake to Hula Lake, Hula Lake to Good Lake, Good Lake to Good Creek, Good Lake to Hoist Bay (Basswood Lake), Good Lake to Indiana Lake, Indiana Lake to Basswood Lake, Indiana Lake to Wind Bay Creek (Wind Bay, Basswood Lake), Wind Bay to Wind Lake, Wind Lake to Washte Lake, Wind Lake to Moose Lake.
Closure Map
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09/15/2024 09:12AM |
LindenTree: "John, planning levels go from 1 to 5. I dont know all the details that go into PL's. They are set in Boise ID at the National International Fire Center."
Thank you for enlightening me, LindenTree :)
When I spoke to some at the outfitter earlier this week, they had expected the closure to be wrapped up by Monday - looks like that won’t be coming to pass…
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09/15/2024 10:26AM |
takk: "Tony, have you been doing any firewise prepping at your place over the years? "
I have, we keep a pretty wide swath tree free around the cabin and I make it a habit to remove any dead trees and use the wood for campfires. The Firewise people come around every couple years and give us some more tips that help in keeping us fire prepared.
Tony
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09/15/2024 12:32PM |
https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/helitack
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09/15/2024 03:49PM |
JohnGalt: "Just had a helicopter fly low over by Moose Lake. Pretty sure it was black/yellow & perhaps these folks:The DNR flies a yellow and black MD. They used it up at the Curtain Falls rescue.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/helitack"
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09/15/2024 04:05PM |
John, FYI. Planning Levels set at the National Interagency Fire Center are national PL levels. Each state and geographic areas (there are 9 or 10 geographic areas in the US) have their own set of fire danger perparadness levels.
What PL 5 means mostly is that competition for aircraft, hot shot crews, hand crews and equipment are limited/scarce due to other fires going on in the US.
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09/16/2024 11:42AM |
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09/16/2024 11:01AM |
The closure is extended through Thursday. They seemed optimistic it would be open by Saturday. Fingers crossed!
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09/16/2024 11:51AM |
As of Sunday, the 27 acre fire was about 25 percent contained. Additional firefighters arrived from Connecticut to assist in fighting the fire and reinforce containment lines.
Some areas around the fire remain closed and the Forest Service reminds people that no drones are allowed in or near the fire area and are illegal in federally designated wilderness areas.
The fire was first detected September 10th on an island on Wood Lake north of County Road 18.
The fire was human caused and Superior National Forest Staff continues to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to email their tip line.
SM.FS.SUP-tipline@usda.gov, Superior NF Webpage Tipline.
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09/18/2024 09:54AM |
takk: "Its an easy scenario to imagine. You are due out the next day, perhaps a local outfitter is picking you up. You get to Wood Lake lae for one final night and all the campsites are taken. You pushed hard all day and you don't want to go back out across all those portages; your ride is scheduled for 8:00am. You find a little secluded spot near water on an island that looks like you could stealth. How hard could it be to build a fire ring? You build a tiny fire ring to cook with and put it out. You do all the things, add water and stir. A week or more later there's a fire at the same location.
Fire investigators would be looking for anything that might have been left behind to confirm human involvement or even rule it out. Remember Ham Lake? The origin campsite was mostly intact despite the severity of the fire and investigators reached it on the first day and started recovering evidence. d"
Doesn't necessarily have to have been someone camping. They could have just been having shore lunch.
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09/14/2024 10:28PM |
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09/12/2024 07:22AM |
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09/14/2024 12:14PM |
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09/12/2024 06:19AM |
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09/12/2024 04:35PM |
Mocha: "the fire is on the island? does that have a campsite?"No, the island they show in the photo does not have a campsite. In fact, it looks like it’s 1/2 mile to the nearest 2 campsites. The photo looked to me like the fire might also be on the land north of the island, but that’s hard to tell from that angle. The photo is looking roughly the same direction as the green arrow.
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09/12/2024 09:52AM |
ducks: "I hope they can knock it out quickly. When we were on Wood in June of 23 I thought that any fire there would go “poof” and all burn because of all the dead spruce. "
I’ve seen a few places like you describe, tinderboxes of spruce budworm infested stands. About Fourtown Lake is another place I noticed that could get out of control quickly.
On the topic of the budworms, I noticed a white pine which was infested on the solo island site on Ensign. Sad to see as it is an old & towering tree, though it is now a hazard - not too many trees scare me up here & that tree scared me. During a couple of windy days it was dropping 4”+ diameter limbs.
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09/12/2024 10:06AM |
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09/13/2024 08:18AM |
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09/13/2024 10:40PM |
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09/13/2024 04:14PM |
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09/13/2024 06:31PM |
Jaywalker: "The Wood Lake fire grew from approximately 3 acres yesterday to 17 acres today as reported by InciWeb. Photos on Inciweb "
Just saw that.
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09/13/2024 07:29PM |
airmorse: "Jaywalker: "The Wood Lake fire grew from approximately 3 acres yesterday to 17 acres today as reported by InciWeb. Photos on Inciweb "
Just saw that."
Looks like that’s what they had anticipated.
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09/12/2024 05:15PM |
Jaywalker: "Mocha: "the fire is on the island? does that have a campsite?"No, the island they show in the photo does not have a campsite. In fact, it looks like it’s 1/2 mile to the nearest 2 campsites. The photo looked to me like the fire might also be on the land north of the island, but that’s hard to tell from that angle. The photo is looking roughly the same direction as the green arrow.
The earlier posted link from FS stated the fire began on the island though spread to a nearby ridge on the ‘mainland’.
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09/12/2024 05:41PM |
Emergency Closure Order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/notices/?cid=FSEPRD1204721
Incident FAQ: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1204727
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09/14/2024 06:28PM |
Basic Information
Current as of Sat, 09/14/2024 - 14:38
Incident Time Zone America/Chicago
Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Under Investigation
Date of Origin Tue, 09/10/2024 - 11:00
Location Township 64, Range 10, Section 26
Incident Commander Incident Commander: Joe Friedmeyer
Incident Commander Trainee: Jeremiah Kaminski
USDA Forest Service-Superior National Forest
Current Status and Resources: Firefighters continue to suppress the fire, strengthen holding lines with pumps and hose lays, use natural features, and backfire with hand ignition when needed to reduce spotting potential near the perimeter or containment line. Yesterday and overnight, fire activity included group tree torching, especially in pockets of spruce budworm infested balsam fir. Aircraft are working the fire to prevent more intense crown and running fire behavior. The National Preparedness Level remains at 5.
Planned Actions: Resources will scout for new containment line locations while continuing to strengthen existing lines on the west side and hold eastern lines. Additionally, firefighters continue to analyze contingency planning around the Moose Lake area, planning that wider perimeter area around the fire.
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09/14/2024 07:19PM |
Tony
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09/15/2024 08:03AM |
Is this out of five or ten?
Hopefully, they are able to get a solid handle on the situation.
At 27 acres, the fire is ~4% of one 1mi x 1mi map square (640 acres).
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09/15/2024 03:15PM |
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09/15/2024 08:29AM |
JohnGalt: "“ The National Preparedness Level remains at 5.”
Is this out of five or ten?
Hopefully, they are able to get a solid handle on the situation.
At 27 acres, the fire is ~4% of one 1mi x 1mi map square (640 acres)."
John, planning levels go from 1 to 5. I dont know all the details that go into PL's. They are set in Boise ID at the National Interagency Fire Center.
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09/19/2024 09:05AM |
The current closers:
The following areas are restricted:
• BWCAW points of entry:
o #26 Wood Lake
• Lakes:
o Wood Lake
o Hula Lake
o Good Lake
o Indiana Lake
• Portages:
o Wood Lake Entry Point Parking Lot to Wood Lake
o Wood Lake to Hula Lake
o Hula Lake to Good Lake
o Good Lake to Good Creek
o Good Lake to Hoist Bay (Basswood Lake)
o Good Lake to Indiana Lake
o Indiana Lake to Basswood Lake
o Indiana Lake to Wind Bay Creek (Wind Bay, Basswood
Lake)
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09/19/2024 10:30AM |
BWCA: "The fire is currently 25% contained and is 27 acres.
The current closers:
The following areas are restricted:
• BWCAW points of entry:
o #26 Wood Lake
• Lakes:
o Wood Lake
o Hula Lake
o Good Lake
o Indiana Lake
• Portages:
o Wood Lake Entry Point Parking Lot to Wood Lake
o Wood Lake to Hula Lake
o Hula Lake to Good Lake
o Good Lake to Good Creek
o Good Lake to Hoist Bay (Basswood Lake)
o Good Lake to Indiana Lake
o Indiana Lake to Basswood Lake
o Indiana Lake to Wind Bay Creek (Wind Bay, Basswood
Lake)
"
This just sucks. Hoping for some solid rain soon. Wood is one of my favorite lakes.
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09/19/2024 07:35PM |
+1
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09/19/2024 09:51PM |
Tony
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09/27/2024 04:57PM |
The Wood Lake fire is currently 50% contained and currently 27 acres. Despite the still smoldering fire, the FS is lifting the closures on the following effective Saturday - 9/28.
BWCAW points of entry:
#26 Wood Lake
Lakes:
Hula Lake
Good Lake
Indiana Lake
Portages:
Wood Lake Entry Point Parking Lot to Wood Lake
Wood Lake to Hula Lake
Hula Lake to Good Lake
Good Lake to Good Creek
Good Lake to Hoist Bay (Basswood Lake)
Good Lake to Indiana Lake
Indiana Lake to Basswood Lake
Indiana Lake to Wind Bay Creek (Wind Bay, Basswood Lake)
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09/29/2024 09:50PM |
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09/30/2024 03:20PM |
Closures: The Superior National Forest (NF) is reinstating Emergency Closure Order #09-09-24-07 and the closure of Wood, Good, Hula, and Indiana Lakes and connecting portages for the public’s health and safety due to the Wood Lake fire within the vicinity of recreation areas