Trail Time – Wildfires and smoke
The smoke from the Little Knife Fire on the Canadian border descended on the Gunflint Trail last week. During the day, a weird light illuminated the woods and lakes. Trees, water, grass and flowers turned strange rosy colors. At dusk, the sky glowed an eerie dark red. Yet the loons were singing that night, and the white throated sparrows, especially that one sparrow that starts his song and then stops after one note. Then starts. Then stops. Hearing them the night of the red sky broke my heart a little. I do so want them to be safe.
The air was extremely unhealthy due to the wildfire smoke for few days. The temperatures were unusually high and a thick cloud layer above kept the smoke from clearing out. The smoke affects us all: the people, the moose, the birds, probably the fish, too. One lake I visited this week had a thick layer of dark gray ash at the boat landing where the wind had driven it, forming a thick sludge that I first mistook for sand. We used an air purifier in the cabin and stayed indoors as much as was physically and mentally possible.
We are situated in the area that has been designated at level one, “Ready” status, preparing to evacuate, or let’s say we’re preparing to prepare, which for me means making lists. “Ready” is the first level of the evacuation protocol of Ready, Set and Go. At the end of the Trail, residents are at “Set” level; We have not reached Level three, “Go,” yet. If we do, that means it’s time to head away from the fire danger. We all have only one way out and that’s the Gunflint Trail.
In one sense we’ve been preparing all summer, focusing on brush and tree cutting to make a bigger safer Firewise zone around our cabin. Lars checked our sprinkler lines early in spring, making repairs where needed and giving the system an early check.
With fire danger moving closer, we’ve been running our fire suppression sprinklers at night, really giving the woods around us a good soaking. That and cutting brush and balsam fir creates a defensible green zone. That makes the woods less receptive to flying embers or a ground fire. That is what we dearly hope, and, historically, it has proven so for other property and for other fires.
I was talking to one daughter on the phone and I said that often I felt a kind of calm in the center of a crisis. She said “so it’s cloudy with a side of clarity?” That was very apt. However, whatever clarity I felt last week fled the moment I got out of my car in town and saw white flakes floating down all around me. I had a brief moment of “oh! Are these gray flakes in the sky those Blue Ash aphids that look like tiny fairies?” No, Marcia, they were not fairies. That was ash from forest fires and my misinterpretation of them was a sign of denial.
It’s clearer now: I mean the smoke AND my thinking. Gunflint residents packed the Schaap Community Center for an informational meeting run by confident professionals from a word salad of acronyms: USFS, NIMO, GTVFD among others. A second meeting was held at the fire hall next door a few days after and there was a third meeting held in Lutsen. I really believe we are getting the information we need. The teams are committed to keeping the fire small and protecting the lives of both residents and firefighters. Another priority is keeping the Gunflint Trail open.
We have inci.web maps to check frequently, and if it comes to the “Go” stage of evacuation, our amazing Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department will come door-to-door to let us know.
It was sobering to hear that the Little Knife fire will likely not be extinguished until there is snow on the ground. For the time being, more fire-fighters and strategic planners will be cycling through our area, including Hot Shots, who are specially skilled in dealing with rugged terrain. We might also get teams from Australia and New Zealand.
In the meantime, you can always pray for rain. About an inch a week would keep this fire in check and maybe stop new ones from forming.
As for right now, today’s sky is a bright blue with puffy white clouds; the air is clear and cool; the berries are ripe and delicious and begging to be picked. And I am going to enjoy it all, with maybe a paddle in the blue canoe with my beloved to end the day in beauty.
— Marcia Roepke
