LA burning

This thing in LA has sprung up so fast you could be excused for missing it, but as of now 500,000 people have been evacuated from the area surrounding LA and San Diego in the past two days as fires burn through the tinder dry brush and race up the steep bluffs. To get an idea how dry it is, they have had 2'' of rain in the past year. When I was out there I visited a house that was perched up on top of one of these Santa Monica hills, and you can see how fast these things would go. Here is a photograph of the typical vegetation and the general angle of the terrain. The vegetation is low and dense but with lots of air available. So like the controlled prairie fires we did in Northfield, these things can get amazingly hot and move fast. Faster than you can run.

And perched all throughout the area, at the top of the hills, are rows and rows of houses. And snaking along the tops are miles of narrow roads, so you can see why so many people had to evacuate and how hard that would be to fight. I wonder if this is going to change some things about how houses are built up there. There are codes for earthquake proofing, but how about wild fire?

LA Times has the best reporting on this so far. Go check it out.

No Blogging, Blogging!

I have gotten to the point that I have so much to write about, but have not written in so long, that I am just saving up the stories! Blogging constipation if you will. I guess its a good thing when I can say, 'I have been way too busy to blog!' vs. having too much time on my hands. So coming up in more detail are:

• Wedding blogging
• Fire blogging
• Cabin blogging
• Car blogging
• Beer blogging
• Bonsai Blogging
• Old friend Blogging

But for now a quick digest...

So did you know my friend Alex got married and I was in the wedding? It was quite the affair that took all time time from Wednesday to sunday two weeks ago already. My sister took the photos too, so those will go up later.

And on the way to the bachelor party my car died. The problem is electrical, I wont get into details, but it has a new battery now but that did nothing. Time go get greasy again! We also went to the cabin using my moms nice car (mm AC) and made me really start thinking about something a little newer. Personally I am wishing specifically and realistically for a 1999 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT. All wheel drive goodness that is quick too. Runs around $6,000. I would like to have it before winter time. But first I have to fix mine of course.

Megan and I had a great time up north. The burn area was amazing to see and I have tons of good pictures. In short, the place is beautiful and crazy green. The blowdown was ugly, this is beautiful. I can't wait to watch it grow!

I also tried our lavender homebrew we bottled last week. Its not done yet but is coming along. None of the strong lavender flavor is there but its has defused into light floral flavors. Next up: Belgian Chocolate Stout

Also, two new Bonsai! I just potted them last night and did an initial trim on one. One needs a better pot and one is just in an plain brown one that should be ok for a while. One is a white cedar and one is a paper birch taken from about 1/2 mile from where I harvested my old one. Pictures later!

I also re-connected with my old friend Sam from High School at Fort Snelling on the 4th of July. I have not seen him in over 5 years! He is a captain now, from the 1800s of course. Peace corps for him next, but not till November so hopefully we can get together before he goes.

Ok thats the digest blogging! More to come later and in no particular order.

10 AM recap

I missed the 10:00 AM meeting this morning again, but I got the recap here.

• From here on out, 1 meeting a day at 10:00 AM
• Gunflint lake and Loon lake open.
• US parameter holding today
• The finger will be enclosed today
• Hot-spot work now, crews with in 100 ft.
• BWCA still closed
• No fires! No welding! Only gas/propane
• Canada side still growing, optimistic the fire will be more in control by this weekend.

7:00 PM update

Came late to this one, they sound like they are giving a powerpoint about fire fighting. What strikes me about this press conference is how much of a wrap up it is...

(Ok, 8:00 post of the first half of the 7:00 update)
• Fire did not grow much today. 1,000 Acres in Canada, none is U.S.
• Drizzle all day, high humidity
• 20% of fire contained, 55% on US side.
• 4 fires in Ontario, this one is the least critical! They are very stretched.
• US teams going up north to help out.
• 1 structure lost today on Sag (Canada), no additional loss. Confidant there will be no more.
• US side, not much happened besides line building.
• Media says "fire out" by sunday, not true. Fire will be contained by sunday, but it might not be out for months.
• Firefighters will be around all summer on this fire.
• But, contained by sunday!
• Thursday, seagull and sag people can get passes to return home for the afternoon.
• Owners on Gunflint and Loon can return noon tomorrow, no conditions. Electric is spotty, talk to the company.
• All of the areas outside the BWCA open for recreation. BWCA is still closed.
• Weather is key, weather has helped us. Along with the 1,100 people helping out.

(Ok thats the whole thing, time for me to dive home to St. Paul)

• Canada is hard to fight fire in
• The 120 mi+ is the parameter of the fire. Not the entire area is burned, but rather is a patchwork.
• The north shore of gunflint lake was a hot crown fire, not much you can do.
• Sprinkler systems have been vital to firefighting. Sprinkler + firefighters is very very good
• the burn out/back burns
• Intentional burns to stop fire
• Very effective around Gunflint and Loon
• This fire used a lot of air support.
• The forest is renewing it self already, lots of green in black places already!

• Re-cap
• Move road closure up to cross river
• Thursday, property owners can get passes to get to their property
• Meeting tomorrow 10 AM and 7 PM with guests from Canada

Rebroadcast at 8:00, I will catch the front end of that

WTIP update: 3:00 PM

• Chance of rain tonight, lows around 35 (brr) There is a chance of frost on monday night!
• Property tax pushed back to June 15th to every one in the evacuated area. Also applies to the caution area.
• 12:00 - 4:00 access on thursday for residents north of round lake
• A plan for access to Gunflint and Loon is in the works. More info on this at 7:00 tonight

 Report from beyond the roadblock from WTIP news
• Madonna, "fire mom" leads a crew of 25
• worked for 25 years fighting fires, this was biggest smoke column she has ever seen
• Strange fire, the way it wrapped around
• No one sleeps, exhaustion is a big problem

Please support WTIP for getting out all this great information!! Go to www.wtip.org to make a donation.

Working

Lots of work today, so I missed the AM fire update but the MNICS press release has gotten quite good at being up to date with what they say at their meetings. The real problem now seems to be in Canada where the fire increased in size 13,000 acres which is a little over 20 square miles in a day. That brings the total size of the fire to about 117 square miles with now over half that in Canada. 20% of the entire fire is contained, but 50% of the US side is contained. All this puts the fire fighting effort at around $6 million.

The front that moved in brought cool dry air, and winds from the north west at 8-14 mph.

Also, people north of round lake will be allowed back to inspect their property this thursday according to this press release. They will have to leave, but at least they can assess the damage them selves.

I am getting a lot of news from the Tuscarora Lodge and Outfitters News as they have a first person view of whats going on. Apparently they had a nice damp morning today.

In fact, a lot of the local blogs that went down during the evacuation are going up again. You can find a large list here at Boreal.org

Late night update

Well I missed the 7:00 AND 10:00 WTIP updates but I have gathered a few links to make up for it.

Tuscarora blog has a good first person assessment of the fire that goes along with an NPR piece that I heard. The point being that even though portions of the fire have blackened everything, large parts of it have left things is a patchwork of trees ready to spring back.

MNICS put out their news release at 6:00 about the fire. Basic outline being there was good progress today on the fire with 20% now contained. The Canadian side seems like the bad spot to be right now. The "finger" area has been pretty well contained with brute force and the cooperation of the winds.

It is my feeling now that the real danger has passed on this fire, at least on the US side of it. With the rain and the low winds, the crews up there have gotten a good hold on the dangerous areas. A big wind could always change things, but as of right now I feel that at least the east bearskin is safe. It is good to know that the sprinkler systems that seemed so dubious when we installed them years ago work as well as they do, so if the next campfire that blows out of control is 1 or 2 miles away instead of 20 or 30, we know there is protection that works.

Hopefully I can catch tomorrows 10:00 AM fire update, and I will carry that on here as usual.

10:00 Fire update

Alright, interview over (went very well, I will post more about it if I get the job) and I got the info on the 10:00 AM fire update from my mom who I conscripted into the blogging effort.

• Will provide info as confirmed
• Division E and B between Loon Lake and Mayhew burned yesterday successfully, working toward Mayhew today
• Good news last night - some rain.
• Got all 3 - wind, rain and lightning
• 1/10 inch at Gunflint location. 1/2 inch in Grand Marais.
• Does reduce fire behavior, gives reprieve.
• Lightning strikes will be patrolled by air several times/day for next few days.
• People on standby in anticipation of fire starts from lightning.
• Fire on Red Pine Island
• Focus will continue to be finger between Loon, Gunflint, South Lake and Mayhew.
• Heavy fog in Ely area may impede some of aircraft operations until it burns off.
• Black line on map means fire is contained. If black line all around fire, means it is in control. Will be awhile before getting to that point.
• As of today - 20% contained,but fire sometimes gets away again.


She also ads that my dad called in the middle of the broadcast and said that he measured 1/2 inch of rain on East Bearskin. He also said that around 11:00 there was heavy lighting that was quite scary, but then the rain caught up at 1:00 AM. He also heard dynamite going off this morning from the fire lines.

New maps out now too. Here is the interactive map and below is a smaller version of the huge PDF map MNICS put out. Click on the image below for a large version.

Interview

I have a job interview this morning at Macalester College for Visual Resource Assistant in the art department. I think I have a good shot as I am currently the curator of the St. Olaf Visual resource collection. I decided to change because the commute is already driving me crazy, and with gas heading towards $4.00 a gallon thats $13 just to get to and back from work! Let alone the time. I could even bike to Macalester no problem as it is a little less than 3 miles away.

Since my interview is at 10:00 and I will miss the WTIP broadcast, but I might be getting an email with it transcribed for me if everything technical works. I will post about it when I can.

For now, here is a good post from Tuscarora Lodge's blog about the fire from the first person. Be sure to check it out.

The benefits of forest fire

UPDATE: This entry is getting up there on Google so some background. This post is in reference to the Ham Lake fire that occurred May 2007 in the North Eastern Tip of Minnesota and traveled into Canada. To see all posts on fire, click here. Thanks for visiting!

I took this photo from the Duluth News Tribune to show a bit how fire can be a benefit to our forest even while we are in the midst of the uncertainty and distraction of it all. I think the tribune chose this photo to show the helicopter juxtaposed with the fire, but if you take a look at the fire behavior it's working just like it should.

• All the balsam have burned. These are the most explosive burners and fuel large fires like this to a great extent. Fire is their enemy, as it destroys their seeds as well as the tree. If you remember the spruce bud worm infestation in 1993 was caused by the dense population of balsam (who are killed by the bud worm) that allowed the worm to jump from tree to tree with little pause for hundreds of square miles. Fire breaks the balsam population up so the worm can not travel can cause mass kills such as 93'. In a circular fashion however, all those dead balsam probably made this fire hotter than it otherwise would be!  It will take years free from fire disturbance for the balsam to return to the numbers we see now.

• The red and white pines have survived. This is not always the case, but if a tree is lucky its thick bark protects it from the fire like armor. It is then free to drop its seeds on freshly blackened soil rich in nutrients from the ash, and the seedlings can grow with little to no competition for light for the next decade or so.








• All the birch have burned, but their roots might still be intact. This will allow them to shoot up clones of themselves very rapidly where they will not have to compete for any sunlight. It is a theory that their paper-like bark developed that way to make small fires burn more so their neighbors are killed allowing them to take control. Devious birch trees!









• I don't think I see any here, but the jack pines will flourish like mad after this fire. Unlike the red and white pine who's seeds can sprout with out fire, the jack pine needs fire's high temperatures to open its cones that are shut tight with sap. They have very thin bark so the parent will inevitably get killed, but the heat will open all their pine cones at the top of the tree and over the weeks after a fire they will shower the freshly burned forest floor with thousands and thousands of seeds. How altruistic!

• The edge of the shore here has been left un-burnt, and this is where you will find the cedar trees stretched out over the water. Cedars are very susceptible to fire so they survive by growing in swamps, on lake shores, on rocky crags and so forth. This is why some have survived since the roman empire despite their often diminutive and gnarled appearance.








There are more of course. Trees as well as animals, wild flowers, berries, and lots of birds who all have their ways to deal with the reality of an ecosystem that has been shaped by fire. So even though the fire seems awful and destructive and we are trying desperately to halt its progress as it destroys peoples homes and dreams, there is a reason to the madness and many things will come back stronger than they were last week.

New Map

(Click to enlarge)

New map out on the web now showing their back burn work that stops right at the end of the road on the south side of Gunflint lake, goes down to the north edge of loon, wraps around the east end of loon lake and ends again along the gunflint trail. All the lines in black are the "lines" they keep talking about. Those are not necessarily contained but are edges that are holding for now. This map also illustrates the fingering going on in Canada right now.

This map looks very impressive. I wish I could get a hold of the map they talked about on WTIP showing the recent history of fire in the area. Like I said way back, the only two ways to really stop a fire is for it to either rain or for it to hit an area that has recently burned. Lets hope for rain tonight!

7:00 WTIP update

Live blogging the 7:00 WTIP broadcast of the fire update:

7:10
• WTIP is a great source for information
• Growth by rush lake today, also towards the east end of Loon
• The north side of the fire in Canada is growing into more fingers
• Today, strong push by granite river and sag, spotted over to horseshoe island
• large 100' flames in this area
• Canadian officials have evacuated the area on the north of sag
• Not sure how far it has pushed into canada
• Good news is on the "finger"
• Things have held well today
• They have been pushed, active fire on both sides of the gunflint trail
• Nothing beyond the line of the burn out, worked very well
• Active on the southern end of the finger, some spotting occurred to the north and south of rush lake
• Working very hard to get the lines around the finger tied off, new lines built today
• New line by west end of gunflint towards round lake
• New line by seagull on devision "X"
• Planning if conditions allow to build lines by east Mayhew to south lake in anticipation of doing a burn out. Protect the houses on north Mayhew.
• Storms coming
• Storms bring rain, wind and lighting. We don't know what we will get, we hope we get rain and not the other two

7:15
• Today was a very good day.
• Worried the winds were going to blow from the west towards poplar lake but didn't happen
• Eventually winds will come out of the west, and if it does we will have to evacuate the Poplar lake area again
• Realistically they will evacuate Poplar again in the next few days
• 2 kinds of evacuation -
• "Cautionary" fire is near, be careful, be prepared to leave at a moments notice
• "Mandatory" fire is here, you are in harms way. You can not be forced to leave
• The way the patterns are looking right now, property owners might be able to get past the road block to check out property up the trail to document the property
• Evacuation is still on, just to allow people to check out their property.
• Middle or end of this week

• Showing a map of salvage logging, previous fires, prescribed burns
• Next meeting tomorrow at 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM. This will be a pattern until you hear otherwise.


Seems like the winds were not as bad as they predicted today! Now we can hope for rain tonight. The forecast still calls for 50% chance of thunderstorms!

Great map!

Forget my Google map, the Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) has a great interactive map here that allows you to zoom in and out of the fire location. As you can see the obvious consern is the "finger" leaking towards the west and running over Loon lake and the south edge of Gunflint lake. The burn out occured around Crab lake, directly to the east of Loon lake. I am not sure if this is shown on this map or not. MNICS also have a news release that is quite good. They are doing better communicating with the public after they received some criticism from residents for a lack of info. You can find the entire MNICS web page at www.mnics.org

Also I have word that our own comunity at east bearskin is arming its self against this fire, with Moe brining along four retired fireman, a pump, and 1000 feet of hose! The sprinkalers continue to go up where they can along with repairs and such that go along with it.

It still seems like the best chance for rain is tonight and tomorrow, with a 50% chance each. Like the fire comander said, if you have any influcence of this please use it now. Lots of south westerly wind, probably about the worst you could have at this moment I think. Although preceding this rain is a cold front that also brings winds. Lets hope it's worth it and they get a good soalk out of it.

Photos

I got an email and spoke to my dad on the phone this morning. He sent along some photos via email that I have attached below, including one of a map that has not been put on the web yet. The photos from honeymoon bluff are of the back burn going on to the south of Gunflint lake. He also said he bought a fishing license, and I assume he will have great luck because he must be one of the only people fishing this opener!

Him and Jim are working down the lake to work on sprinkler systems where they can. The main firefighting resources are so tied up north on the trail that East Bearskin is still low priority. I guess that good news.

He also said it was getting windy today like the forecast said. I hope things stay on the calm side today, or their back burn efforts pay off.

10:00 AM Fire update

The 10:00 AM fire update via WTIP is about to come on. Live blog to follow. (click here for a direct link to the audio)

10:00
• The sherif is on his way down the trail, he will be 10 min late. The conference will start then.

10:10:
• recap of the fire progression, showing maps from day 1
• The most growth on Thursday
• All growth based on wind direction
• Today, out of the SE, 10-15 sustained gusts up to 25
• Last night, did a burn out between gunflint and loon lake
• It went "extremely well"
• We are in a much better position than we were before
• None of this is a grantee

10:15
• Showing maps of where they are going to work today
• THe old power-line between gunflint and loon
• It is a "hand line" to help stop spotting
• What we need is a wind from both directions (E/W) at the same time. heh.
• Fire is now 15% contained
• Much of the fire has cooled down
• Canadians are trying to prevent it from going further east, looking at a possible burn out today.
• The burn outs have been the most effective tactic so far
• The US and Canadian coordination has been seamless (weather data, equipment, people)

WEATHER
Temp: 60s
Humidity: 30-35%
Wind: 10-15 (25) SE

10:20
• Sherif speaking
• If things get worse, evacuations may resume
• You can't get arrested if you don't evacuate
• But is distracts from protecting other structures because they have to protect you above all else
• Looking at evacuating trail center area again today
• Middle and end of this week, the road blocks might be opened to allow people back to their property
• Meetings tonight at 7:00 at Poplar lake and Grand Marais center for the arts

Late night fire update

Sorry all, I missed the 7:00 PM fire update due to the housewarming party, but I am on the 9:00 WTIP broadcast. Live blog to follow.

7:00
• concern is the "finger"
• One bit went out to the east end of loon lake, but ok because it hit the burn out area and stopped.
• There was growth on the north end of the finger
• Growth east and west near rush lake (end of the finger), and entering blowdown area. This is a concern.
• The back burn is in progress now (7:00 PM)
• 53,000 acres (+700 today)
• USA: 30,000 Canada: 22,0000
• 134 structures lost total in US and Canada

7:05
• Today was a good day
• Evacuations lifted, from Poplar lake fire hall to west of Voyager point
• Did this because the winds were going the right direction
• Controlled burned occurred later than expected
• Main structure protection on loon and Gunflint
• Today was good, tomorrow looks not so good.
• Tomorrow wind out of the south west
• This might cause a re-decleration of evacuations tomorrow
• Showing a map of controlled burns
• These burns have helped us control this fire
• Back burn is directly south of Gunflint by loon
• Main concern is the finger pushing west or east
• Sag and Seagull has cooled down significantly, thinking about letting people in early next week (on temp basis)

7:10
• 10:00 AM meeting tomorrow

WEATHER TONIGHT

- partly cloudy
- chance of rain
- SE 10-15
- humidity 80%

Evacuation update

"Effective at 12:00 PM on 5/12/07, the cautionary evacuation area between Poplar Lake Fire Hall and Swamper Lake is being lifted. Also, the Mandatory/Imminent Evacuation area between the Poplar Lake Fire Hall and Voyageur Point (County Road 85) is being lifted."

I have updated the Google map to reflect this. I have also added a yellow box to show where roughly where the prescribed back burn will be today. Keep in mind this is a wild guess and only shows the area they are talking about, not necessarily where its borders will fall.

10:00 AM Ham lake fire update

Live blogging the 10:00 AM Ham lake fire update at the Grand Marais Center for the arts broadcast via WTIP.

9:55:
•Playing "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

10:05
• Mark VanIrving from the FS.
• Yesterday no appreciable growth
• Weather today, clear and sunny
• light winds 5 mph from the east
• low humidity ~ 25%
• Tomorrow wind from SE, temp around 60
• Wind tomorrow, 15 mph possible 30 mph gusts
• So today, another burn out operation on the west side of the "finger"
• Begin the burn out at gunflint, towards loon, towards the fire.
• Exactly the same thing they did on wednesday to protect gunflint lodge.
• Previous prescribed burning has been extremely important to fight this fire, slowed movement, provides "base"
• Today also working on "Dev X" by Sag
• Hoping for a good burn out today
• Meeting tonight some time, some where about how the burn out went

10:10
• There is still a fire (heh)
• Evacuation moved back!
• New block at CR 85
• Poplar lake, Hungry Jack now under recommended evacuation, not mandatory

10:15
• Elected officials in town (congress members, state reps)
• they are talking

10:20
• There will be more meetings for info tonight, somewhere at some time

No news, good news

Well no news tonight, but I think thats a good thing. I did snag this radar clip of what appears to be some showers running over the entire BWCA. Also, the forecast calls for a 40% chance for thunderstorms on saturday and saturday night, and then a 30% chance on monday. Good news.

7:00 PM update

Live blogging the 7:00 PM conference on WTIP

• Good weather today! "Very good day"
• Lots of clouds, low winds, low temp
• Still, no additional structure losses last night and today. Total structures lost 134 (phew 44 on the wilderness outpost alone)
• $3.7 million lost
• "Good news and more good news"
• Sag is cooling down
• all lines around the fire held today
• The controlled back burn (on wed) was a 100% success and saved the south side of gunflint. It is also cooling off
• The "finger" is more narrow and more west than the map shows
• The "finger" missed all structures

7:10
• 25 teams of 5 fire engines "strike teams" on structure protection
• Bulldozer line off power-line to protect loon and gunflint
• Tomorrow, wind coming out of the east, south east, could push back towards Gunflint
• Info is difficult to transmit. Mostly done by car.

7:15
• This fire is not out. If there is more wind, there will be substantial growth.
• Don't get overconfident, this fire could still make big runs with any wind
• WTIP is on the air until midnight and then back on air at 8:00
• only one meeting tomorrow at 10:00 AM.