The fire started just west of Lake One as a lightning strike.  As fire is a necessary part of maintaining a healthy wilderness environment, the US Forest Service decided to let the fire burn.  Forest Service fire crews did prescribed, controlled burns around the lightning fire in an attempt to control the size of the blaze.  Things seemed to be going well until unforseen winds took the fire on a large two day run which resulted in the following events.

Ultimate Fire Size: 92,682 acres
The vast majority of the fire burned in areas having little to no canoe traffic and over 90%of the Boundary Waters was NOT effected.

Here are some pictures to show how the fire moved through the wilderness...

This picture illustrates how the fire burns in pockets.  Do you see the helicopter?

As you can see the fire moves through in spots or sections.  There are areas where the fire moved through in a continuous line but did so in heavily wooded areas away from water.

Fire on Lake Two

A high intensity burn area.

A prime example of how the fire will burn and leave green trees along its perimeter.

How was the fire fought?
By Land and Air.  The city of Ely rallied around the fire crews and provided much needed support.  We here at Boundary Waters Outfitters were extremely busy keeping the fire crews fed.  We packed food for several groups paddling into the wilderness for stints of 4 to 7-days.  Most crews were resupplied and sent back in for an additional 4 to 7-days.  The Fire Crews worked on 14-day shifts.

The CL215 Water Bombers loading up for another run.

CL215 Water Drop

The Hotshot Crews had to paddle into the wilderness to fight the blaze

Hotshots working the fire

The Story and The Affects...

We’re sure that many of you have heard news of the forest fire (Pagami Creek Fire) that burned in the BWCA from mid August through mid October - but here is a brief summary. The Pagami Creek Fire started with a lightning strike on August 18 (about 1 mile southwest of Lake one) and smoldered for 8 days without any significant change. A hot dry windy day saw the fire expand and led the Forest Service to conduct a controlled burn to reduce fuel loads around the fire. Once again the fire was stable for a couple of weeks. Extremely hot, dry and windy weather over the weekend of September 10 – 12 led to rapid fire expansion from 1000 acres to 11,000 to 60,000 to 93,000 acres over the weekend. The forest service mobilized to fight the fire with crews, equipment and aircraft coming from all over the US. Although large, the fire has only affected 10% of the wilderness – with most of the fire occurring in areas not traveled by canoeists. Even in the areas affected by the fire, there is much green to be seen.
 

The question on many people’s mind - How will this affect the Boundary Waters experience? The only travel route really affected by the fire is from Lake Three to the south end of Insula Lake. From my trip through lakes One, Two, and Three this past week I was surprised by how much remained unscathed. As the fire moved, it jumped and amazingly did not lay waste to everything in its path. Areas around some of my favorite campsites were lush and green—despite burned areas nearby. The whole landscape from Lake 3 to Insula is awe inspiring; the way nature takes care of herself in the midst of a great fire. Here you will see so many different variations of color and terrain and see up close how fire moves through the wilderness. For groups considering a trip from Lake One to Insula Lake, the area will be open and you will only spend about one day traveling through the fire area. This is a great opportunity to see nature at work.
 

How do we believe this will affect you? With a large fire such as Pagami Creek, visitor preference will go 1 of 2 ways. There will likely be some gravitational pull to the Lake Three to Insula Lake area by people interested in seeing the effects of the fire and the amazing recovery the forest has already begun. In contrast, there will also be a significant number of people who will choose to avoid the fire area, choosing to visit a different entry point untouched by the fire. This is fine, but it increases the importance of booking early since the unaffected entry points may see greater demand than in years past. It may be harder to get last minute permits and will likely be harder to get them within a month or two of your desired travel dates.
 

While it is sad to see a portion of our beloved wilderness burned, it is important to remember that fire is an important part of our ecosystem and the forest will recover faster than one would imagine. From our paddle into Lake Three, we are already seeing new growth from the ashes; from grass growing in affected areas to birch seeds falling and planting in their prime environment. Jack Pine cones—that need over 170 degrees to open—have opened up and have also deposited their seeds. Despite what you may have heard —the wilderness has not been destroyed—for in the same way that a phoenix rises from the ashes, so does a forest after a fire.