Pagami Creek Fire grows to more than 60,000 acres

The Pagami Creek Fire exploded in size Monday, fueled by hot, dry conditions, low humidity, and strong winds. According to USFS spokesman Doug Anderson, the fire grew in size from an estimated 11,000 acres on Monday, to more than 60,000 acres on Tuesday.

“Yesterday was quite an eventful day on the fire,” said Anderson on Tuesday morning. “It ran 12 miles. Our acreage, we’re getting a better handle on it this morning. Yesterday was quite difficult trying to fly around the fire with the big smoke plume, but it’s over 60,000 acres now.  It has spread over to Kawishiwi Lake, on the edge of that, for those that know it.  And the County Road 7 area has been evacuated, coming down to Kawishiwi Lake. It’s on the north side of Isabella Lake, and it’s burned down the south side of Bog Lake, which is north of Isabella. So, there are homes probably six, seven miles downwind of where we could have some spread today, so there is a certain immediacy there with the structures. That’s a big priority for us today. We have fire department engines coming in to help protect structures if need be today. A lot of today is going to be strategy on the south side, where it’s starting to come out of the wilderness area. We’ll be looking at dozer lines in there. That’ll be the main priority is going to be that south end that is north of Isabella about 10 miles.”

The Pagami Creek Fire is the largest wildfire in Minnesota since May 2007, when the Ham Lake fire burned over 76,000 acres in Cook County and Ontario.

The Pagami Creek fire started with a lightning strike August 18th and is being described as “erratic” and “stubborn.” More than 60 firefighters from multi-agency fire crews are battling the blaze.

The US Forest Service has closed the area north and west of Cook County Road 3 and the upper Sawbill Trail, and last night evacuated residents on County Road 7 north of Isabella. The Finland community center has been set up as an evacuation shelter.

Wilderness rangers also escorted more than 120 campers out of wilderness lakes to the east and south of the fire path in the past two days.

Heavy thunderstorms ran through the Arrowhead late yesterday afternoon offering mostly lightning and little rain. At least two spot fires were attributed to the storms, one to the west of the main fire near Highway 2 and the other near Seagull Lake Road in Cook County.

The fire near Seagull Lake Road started after a power line went down during yesterday’s thunderstorms. According to reports from the scene, the fire reached up to 6 acres in size. The initial attack on the fire was conducted before dark with air tankers dumping several loads of water. The Forest Service says that five volunteer fire department engines responded to the Seagull Lake Road fire along with three Forest Service engines and a bulldozer.

A fire ban remains in effect for the BWCAW during the day, with campfires allowed only within approved fire rings between 6 p.m. and midnight. 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has also imposed temporary burning restrictions in northern Minnesota, prohibiting the burning of brush and yard waste until further notice.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As a precautionary action, the Forest Service is temporarily closing the following waterways and portages in the vicinity of the Pagami Creek Fire: Lakes One through Hudson, Fire, Bridge, Rifle, the Wilders, Horseshoe, Pagami, Clearwater, Turtle, Camdre, Pietro, Gull, Quadga, Rice, Isabella Lake, and the Isabella River. The southern campsites on Bald Eagle are closed. The Pow Wow Trail is closed. Sites, routes and portages will be re-opened as soon as it is safe to do so. The following entry points are closed: #30 Lake One, #84 Snake River, #75 Little Isabella River, #67 Bog Lake, #86 Pow Wow Trail, #35 Isabella Lake, and #34 Island River. Campers already in the BWCAW will be able to travel through these routes to exit the wilderness but visitors will not be allowed to enter at these points until further notice.

Pagami Creek Fire

September 13, 2011

Contact: Fire Information 218-365-3177

TODAY'S MESSAGE: Yesterday, a finger of the Pagami Creek Fire made an unprecedented 16 mile run to the east, reaching the edge of Polly Lake. The fire became a plume-driven event and reached in excess of 60,000 acres. The fire is now under Unified Command with Lake County Sheriff's Office as full partners of management of this fire. Residents were evacuated from 36 addresses along the portion of the Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 from Kawishiwi Lake south to the Wanless Road (Forest Road 172) and along the Wanless Road west from the junction with the Cramer Road to Homestead Lake. Public Safety crews continue to range the wilderness, moving visitors out of areas where they may be at risk.  A town meeting held in Isabella was attended by about 100 concerned residents. Winds are expected to be strong and out of the northwest and west again today with little or no precipitation expected.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:

Hand crews on the north side of the fire will be patrolling lines and monitoring for any fire spread

Airplanes and helicopters are being used to drop water to slow the spread of the fire.

Areas around the fire within the BWCAW are being assessed to plan for visitor evacuation and closure.

A Community Meeting will be held at the Vermilion Community College in Ely, Minnesota tonight, September 13, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Daily public meetings will be held in Isabella Community Center at 11:00 a.m.

A Joint Information Center has been set up in the Kawishiwi Ranger District Office for answering both Superior National Forest and Lake County questions.

BWCAW CLOSURES: Closures will be added soon. A complete list will be sent out soon.

ROAD CLOSURES: All roads north of the following route are closed: Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Lake County Road 7; Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354; FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake. Highway 1 is still open. Road blocks staffed within Lake County will be at the intersections of Wanless and Cramer, Highway 1 and Wanless, Hwy 1 and Tomahawk Trail. Road blocks within Cook County will be Hwy 3 just west of Sawbill Road. Additional closures may occur.

SAFETY: The Superior National Forest and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are enacting additional fire restrictions for areas outside the BWCAW. Go to the MNICS.org and the Superior National Forest websites for further information.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011 CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: in excess of 60,000 acres

LOCATION: Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One.

AGENCY: Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: Nearly 200 personnel are assigned to the fire.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Phone (218) 365-3177

Internet: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534 Follow us on Twitter@inciweb

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE FROM WTIP as of 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 13

Here is the information on the Pagami Creek Fire. Most of this information has come from the Pagami Creek Fire Incident Command Post in the Kawishiwi Ranger District of the Superior National Forest.

·The Cook County Sheriff’s Department and the US Forest Service are holding meetings tonight and tomorrow morning to address the Pagami Lake Fire Activity, Public Safety and Wilderness Closures.

The first meeting will be held at 7 o’clock tonight at the Gunflint Ranger District Office Conference Room on Highway 61 on the west side of Grand Marais. WTIP will broadcast this meeting for those who can’t attend. Tune in to 90.7 FM on the North Shore, 89.1 FM on the Gunflint Trail and 90.1 FM in Grand Portage to hear the meeting.

The second meeting is scheduled for 11 o’clock tomorrow morning at the Poplar Lake Fire Hall on the Gunflint Trail.

· The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has issued an Air Quality Alert today. As of Noon, particulate levels in the air became elevated to the point that the general population could begin to experience health effects.

Health officials warn that the pollution from the smoke can be dangerous for persons with cardiac and/or respiratory conditions; the elderly and the very young. It is recommended that exposure to the smoke be limited as much as possible. Staying indoors with windows closed is a good option.

· The wind-driven Pagami Creek Fire now exceeds 60,000 acres. The eastern edge of the blaze is at Lake Polly and on the south in the area of Isabella Lake. This area is to the west of Sawbill Lake in northwest Cook County. As of 1 PM it did not appear to have entered into Cook County, although it is close.

· Forest officials are in the process of closing nearly all of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The exceptions are entry points along the Echo Trail and the Trout Lake Section. The BWCAW is closed west of the Gunflint Trail except for the following entry points: 42 Brule Lake Only, 54A Seagull Lake Only, 55A Saganaga Lake Only. The BWCAW is also closed west of entry point 25 and the Moose Lake Chain. There also is a small section that will remain open northeast of the Gunflint Trail. The Ranger District was awaiting the signing of the orders before officially making the closures.

· The Type One Team is coming in to the area at this time. These firefighters will take over command of the fire on Thursday. Type One teams have a lot of experience dealing with very complex fires. The Pagami Creek Fire is one of those very complex fires.

· There have been no further evacuations ordered, yet, beyond the Sawbill Lake area in Cook County which was evacuated Tuesday morning.

· All roads north of the following routes are closed: Highway 1 from Forest Road 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (Forest Road 172) east of Lake County Road 7; Lake County Road 7 north to Forest Road 354; Forest Road 354 north to the BWCAW boundary at Kiwishiwi Lake. Highway 1 is still open. Road blocks staffed within Lake County are at the intersections of Wanless and Cramer roads, Highway 1 and Wanless, Highway 1 and Tomahawk Trail. So far, Highway 3 is blocked in Cook County just west of Sawbill Road. Additional closures may occur.

· The fire is moving south and east driven by the winds. Fire officials say the burn-out done earlier north of Pagami Creek has kept the fire from moving north.

· Kawishiwi District Rangers also report their appreciation for the East Range Coalition Fire Departments and local residents who have provided equipment to aid in fighting the fire. There are nearly 200 personnel assigned to fight the fire.

· Smoke conditions downwind from the fire have been heavy with extensive haze and smell reaching the North Shore of Lake Superior. It will remain heavy and wide-spread depending on the wind direction.

· Health officials warn that the pollution from the smoke can be dangerous for persons with cardiac and/or respiratory conditions; the elderly and the very young. It is recommended that exposure to the smoke be limited as much as possible. Staying indoors with windows closed is a good option.

· The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has not issued any Air Quality Alerts even though the smoke is heavy in Grand Marais and surrounding areas. The nearest Air Quality Monitoring sites to Grand Marais are Grand Portage, Ely and Duluth. None of those sites has recorded pollution levels that trigger a moderate risk level of Air Quality Alert, although it is close in Grand Portage.

· Stay tuned to 90,7 FM on the North Shore, 90.1 FM in Grand Portage and 89.1 FM on the Gunflint Trail for updates. Pagami Creek Fire information can also be found at wtip.org.