Pagami Creek Fire in BWCAW spreads to 200 acres

[Lee Borgersen]

8/28/2011 11:29:00 AM   
Pagami Creek Fire in BWCAW spreads to 200 acres
Lightning caused the fire which started on August 18, 2011 and an estimated 130 acres have been burned, according to the Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District.

The fire is located 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.

Spokeperson Tracy Richards said, "The fire made a rapid run to the South East on Friday, August 26 when relative humidity dropped to 18 percent and 15-20 mph NW winds continued for several hours. The fire continues to be active. Depending on wind directions, visitors may see and smell smoke.

"Public safety crews are in place. There are currently about 20 local firefighters assigned on the ground. In addition, CL215, water-scooping aircraft, are available for water drops and a helicopter has been ordered for tactical and logistical missions. A Minnesota Interagency Incident Management Team has been ordered and will be assigned to the fire on Monday, August 29. The team will develop and implement contingency plans to meet the management objectives."

Public and firefighter safety are the top priority.

The plan is to ensure that the fire stays south of the Kawishiwi River corridor and within the Wilderness.

• Limit disruptions to public use of the BWCAW by keeping Lakes 1, 2 and 3 open to use as much as possible.

There are no imminent threats to public safety or private properties. There are no closures in place at this time, however, visitors are to stay off Pagami Creek and to stay clear of the fire area.

Weather and fire behavior forecasts for the next several days indicate that the fire will not likely spread more than a few hundred yards on any given day in any direction, the report said. Longer term forecasts indicate conditions will be favorable for preventing fire spread to the north and limiting spread to the east and south. Very little spread is expected to the west. However, it is unlikely that substantial rain can be counted on to extinguish the fire within the next week to ten days. 
 

[greatoutdoors]

Pagami Creek Fire
                                                          UPDATE: September 4, 2011

TODAY’S MESSAGE:  Today, the Interagency Incident Management Team has planned a burn out in the area from the Pagami fire to Lakes One and Two.  Firing operations of this kind are weather-dependent.  The weather outlook has been favorable but this may change.   

ACTIVITIES TODAY:   
        Firing operations are expected to begin in the mid afternoon.
        A variety of aerial resources will be used on the burn out.   
-Helicopters will be used to ignite the burn.
-A water-scooping tanker called a CL-215 will be scooping water from Snowbank Lake.
-A small plane will provide tactical direction to all operations from the air.
-Float planes will conduct reconnaissance and support operations.
        For visitor safety, the two portages between Lake One and Lake Two will be closed for a period of time during the burn out.  To avoid a delay at these portages, visitors are encouraged to get across these portages before 2:00 pm today.
        Safety crews will hold traffic from crossing the portages until it is safe and then will escort groups through the portages. The portages will be reopened as quickly as possible.

OUTLOOK:  Firing activities may continue on Monday to meet management objectives. Reducing fuels in this area will decrease the potential for fire to spread outside the Wilderness boundary.   
People should expect to see and smell smoke through the next several days. Dry weather trends are predicted into mid-September.   There are no imminent threats to public safety or private properties.  There are no closures in place at this time.   

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE:  Lightning

CURRENT SIZE:  130 acres actually burned

LOCATION: Township 63 N, Range 9 W, Sections 30, 31, 32:  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

STATUS: Fire activity continued yesterday with smoldering, creeping and group tree torching.

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Depending on wind directions, visitors may see and smell smoke.

RESOURCES:  Minnesota Interagency Incident Management Team B is managing the fire with 103 personnel.  Public safety crews are in place to provide contact with Wilderness visitors.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:         

[greatoutdoors]

Pagami Creek Fire
                                                 UPDATE: September 6, 2011

TODAY’S MESSAGE:  Today, the Interagency Incident Management Team will work to complete the burnout operation in the area from the Pagami Creek Fire to Lakes One and Two.  Visitors to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness should expect to see and smell smoke again today from both the Pagami Creek Fire and the High Lake Fire.  The High Lake Fire is a small fire approximately 7 miles NE of Ely.  Three additional small fires were detected yesterday and suppression response was initiated. Paddlers in the Lakes One and Two area will continue to see aircraft and hear pumps running as part of the burn out operation. Public Safety crews will be on the lakes to meet paddlers and escort them across the portages between Lakes One and Two. No closures of the portages are expected.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:   
        Continuing firing operations are expected to begin in the late morning.
        A variety of aerial resources will be used on the burn out.   
-Helicopters will be used to ignite the burn.
-A water-scooping tanker called a CL-215 will be scooping water from Snowbank Lake.
-A small plane will provide tactical direction to all operations from the air.
-Float planes will conduct reconnaissance and support operations.

OUTLOOK:  Firing activities are expected to be completed today. Dry weather trends are predicted into mid-September making the burn out operation important for providing for public safety. Decreasing fuels in this area will decrease the potential for fire to spread outside the Wilderness boundary.

SAFETY: There are no imminent threats to public safety or private properties.  There are no closures at this time.  Due to recent dry conditions, douse campfires completely until cold to the touch.   

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE:  Lightning

CURRENT SIZE:  720 acres burned. Acreage should be expected to rise due to the burn out operation.

LOCATION: Township 63 N, Range 9 W, Sections 30, 31, 32:  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

STATUS: Fire activity continued yesterday with smoldering, creeping and group tree torching.

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Depending on wind directions, visitors may see and smell smoke.

RESOURCES:  Minnesota Interagency Incident Management Team B is managing the fire with 108 personnel.  Public safety crews are in place to provide contact with Wilderness visitors.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:         
Phone (218) 365-3177   
Internet:  www.inciweb.org/incident/2534                   Follow us on Twitter@inciweb

[greatoutdoors]

                       Pagami Creek Fire
                                                           For Immediate Release
                       September 8, 2011

Contact: Fire Information 218-365-3177


Pagami Creek Fire Transitions to Monitoring Phase


Ely, MN… The burn out operation conducted on the Pagami Creek Fire this past weekend was one part of the long term plan for managing the fire within the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. The Interagency Incident Management Team was tasked with developing a short term strategy for reducing the threat of the Pagami Creek Fire to the Fernberg Corridor and residents living there. With the burn out completed it might be tempting to believe that the tactical fire operations are essentially complete, but firefighters are still on the ground working hard to implement the plan.

Firefighters at this stage of a fire are exposed to many risks. Active fire is still burning in the interior and pockets of unburned fuel can ignite rapidly throwing embers that can compromise the fire line. Patrolling the fire line means walking through areas where burned trees, also called snags, may fall at any time. Warmer temperatures this week will mean drier fuels and a greater risk of dehydration. Fighting fire from canoes means greater exposure to risks.

The number of firefighters working on the Pagami Creek Fire will begin to decrease over the next few days. While the numbers may decrease, the monitoring of the fire will not. The next phase of the long term management plan is to carefully watch the southern portion of the fire as it burns within the Wilderness. Wildfires provide many benefits to the ecosystem, including the natural creation of fuel breaks. As the Pagami Creek Fire moves south it may eventually reach the older burned areas of the Turtle and Gabbro fires. When resource managers are able to use fuel breaks created by earlier fires the need to expose firefighters to risk is reduced.

Today, crews on the Pagami Creek Fire will be focused on securing the fire line and identifying hazards that could make their work more dangerous. Hand firing may be used to burn out pockets of un-burned fuels close to the fire line. Ely area residents and visitors should expect to see and smell smoke from both the Pagami Creek Fire and several small fires that were detected in the past few days.  Paddlers in the Lakes One and Two area may continue to see aircraft and hear pumps running as the burn out operation transitions into mop up and monitoring. Public Safety crews will be on the lakes to talk with paddlers and escort them across the portages between Lakes One and Two.   

Paddlers are asked to maintain a safe distance from the shores affected by the fire. Trees with root systems damaged by the fire might fall at any time. Everyone is encouraged to remember that this area is particularly dry and to be careful with fire.

For additional information please call (218) 365-3177 or visit www.inciweb.org/incident/2534