Tofte District Ranger talks Superior National Forest fire restrictions and recent human-caused fire reports
With ongoing drought conditions, active wildfires, and recent human-caused fire incidents, fire restrictions have expanded to the entire Superior National Forest.
The previous fire restrictions included Cook and Lake Counties, which took effect Friday, Oct. 4.
Under the expanded restrictions, announced on Thursday, Oct. 10, campfires are now banned, including charcoal grills and barbeques, coal, and woodburning stoves within the entire three-million-acre Superior National Forest boundary, including the northern portions of St. Louis County and Koochiching County.
The expanded fire restriction took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 11.
The U.S. Forest Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are working together to coordinate messaging and information to the public, along with the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
“We continue to coordinate with the Minnesota DNR, Bois Forte, and Grand Portage to avoid confusion across jurisdictions. We want the recreating public to be safe as they enjoy the Forest,” stated Tom Hall, Superior National Forest Supervisor.
WTIP spoke with Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak on Thursday, Oct. 10, leading up to the expanded fire restrictions.
“We are in a drought,” Bogardus-Szymaniak said. “We all know that.”
Every day since the last week of September, Bogardus-Szymaniak said, drought conditions across the Superior National Forest have been setting records.
“What we look at is the top four inches of the surface of the ground, and then four inches to eight inches down below that,” said Bogardus-Szymaniak. “We are looking at that and seeing how much moisture is in there. All of our indices are showing us that we are record-setting here.”
Bogardus-Szymaniak said, given the increased fire danger, “We’re really asking people to be doubly cautious out there.”
In addition to campfire concerns, the Forest Service is advising individuals to be mindful while mowing the lawn, operating welding equipment outside, dragging chains, or operating an ATV/UTV, as a small spark can lead to a potential wildfire.
“If we had good wind, dry weather, and low humidities, fires would move very, very quickly,” she said. “And it’s not August. It’s October. So this is very odd.”
Numerous reports of ‘close call’ campfire incidents have occurred in the past three weeks across the Superior National Forest. The Forest Service, Gunflint Trail Fire Department, and law enforcement have responded to calls of warm coals left unattended at campsites.
“The human-caused fires that we’ve had in these last three weeks has been pretty insane,” said Bogardus-Szymaniak. “We can’t have it. What we’re finding is, especially these last two weekends, our fire crews went around into the campgrounds after people left to go home, and every fire ring had hot coals in it.”
She said, “We just have escaped campfire after escaped campfire.”
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak on Thursday, Oct. 10, to talk about the fire restrictions, Bogus Lake Fire, reduced national firefighter resources, and more. The audio from the interview is below.
Kalli Hawkins October 11, 2024
