BDub is Burning - Cool Pics

[Harold]

6,000 acres and counting:

[Xplorer]

Ouch, that is one heck of a hot dog fire they got there
Sure hope noone is in its way.

[Dr.Bob]

Wow!

Where did you find these Harold?

[Harold]

Bob - Someone on another BWCA board I check out from time to time posted this link:

http://www.boreal.org/fireinfo/Cavity_Lake_Fire/photo_gallery.html

Hope that's an authorized link ?? ?

That last pic looks as if two boats are high tailing out of there. 

[jigglestick]

my brother steve is up there right now, doing mapping work for the company he works for. the hotel he checked into last night is the same one that the fire fighters have their headquarters set up at.

in talking to the guy in charge, he commented that three water planes didnt seem like nearly enough to fight a 6,000 acre blaze.
the fellow told him that un-benounced to the public, it is not their intention to extinguish the fire. not just yet anyway.

the area as most of you might recall is littered with blow down from the big storm back in 97, or 99, i don't recall. the foresters have wanted to do controlled burns ever since that occured.
in an attempt to do so four years ago, there was a petition signed by roughly 98 % of the area residents NOT to do it.
this is their opportunity to get at least some of it cleaned up.

they have pinch points to cut it off if nesecary, but he didn't anticipate needing to do so.

one thing is certain in this case as any other, sooner or later, mother nature will run her course. regardless of what some sandal wearing, prematurely grey, round eyeglass toting, granola eating tree hugger, or anyone else for that matter, has to say about it.

lets hope nobody gets hurt.

[Dr.Bob]

one thing is certain in this case as any other, sooner or later, mother nature will run her course. regardless of what some sandal wearing, prematurely grey, round eyeglass toting, granola eating tree hugger, or anyone else for that matter, has to say about it.

 :D :D :D

Tell us how you really feel Dave.

[Xplorer]

Sounds like its now over 15000 acres as of last night, and could grow to 30000. Slight chance for a little rain today, but also more possible lightening and then little rain forecasted for the next few days.? If all they're using is 2 planes then that clearly aint gonna cut it.

[JohnWester]

just got back from 5 days up there...  damn hard to get any peace and quiet with those planes and news choppers flying around ALL THE TIME.

geez... can't a guy go and relax in the bwca anymore? :D

all kidding aside, was a nice trip, not too smokey where i was, once and a while when the wind changes... get a wiff..

[jigglestick]

I talked to my brother this afternoon, who told me that after talking to the same gentleman as earlier, he learned that there is now about 50 square miles burning and they have no intentions of putting it out.
this, i'm afraid is what they warned us about back when the storms rolled through and knocked down all the standing timber.
 :-\

[WoodChuck]

 :( hey! as we all know hind site is 20/20, but if the usfs and the minn st. dnr did what was right they would be with out a job. if they would have listened to the real people who take care of the forest this thing would not be out of hand. ( like leting the loggers in to all areas to clean it out , such as checker board fashion . we would not have this problem!) now ther is the fire, the old debrie and then the new forest that had started since 2000. but as usual the bleeding hearts and the enviros get their way and now we the true nature lovers get to suffer. enough said by this pissed off woodchuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:(

[JohnWester]

i am not sure the loggers wanted to get in there.  I think it would have been too much effort on their part to try and get the timber out.  Jiggle, any comment on this?

[jigglestick]

well BFG, I am not a logger, just a log hauler, but if I may extend myself for speculative purposes only, it is my understanding that there were loggers willing to go in imediately after the blow down. it was not unlike some other areas here in the grand rapids area where the storm blew down tangled up messes as well. the price for the stumpage, I would have to imagine was very low, leaving alot more room to take the extra time needed to sort through the jigsaw like puzle of broken trees. 
the machines they use nowdays can do exactly that, picking and sorting, stacking timber as they work their way in.
the huggers didn't want the machines to tear up their pristine environment. I can appreciate that. what I don't understand is their lack of common sense. how pristine is this going to be now? have it your way.
 ::)
now, say the fire is extinguished by land locks or a torrential down pour, the timber that is left, has been down for so long it is worthless for anything besides fuel for a forest fire.
keep in mind also that these parts of the woods are all but impassable by foot. if you have ever had the opportunity to try to navigate through blow down on foot, you would know exactly what i am talking about.
trees don't just snap off and fall to the ground. they fall til they get hung up, which means some of the trees are on the ground and some are laying on top of those trees, leaving them any where from 2-3-4-or more feet off of the ground. up and over, or down under, weaving, crawling, climbing.
to get a hundred yards can be a rigorous endeavor.

the environmentalists dropped the ball big time on this one. not because they weren't told of the possibillities either.

[Lee Borgersen]

Got this e-mail from a friend in Ely this morning.

"We finally got a good rain yesterday.? So hard I could barely see to drive home last night.? It should help the fires, if it rained like that over on the Gunflint.
 
Maybe we'll see you next year.
 
Nancy"

[Harold]

Hi Lee - Welcome back.  Bob posted a nice recap of your day together.  Hope it was a great vacation.  Pics?

[Lee Borgersen]

Thanks Jim,

Rather be back in the Ely area. Hope to post a report with pics. in the next week or so.

Now it's time to switch boats and put the Boundary Waters craft in my pal's garage in Chicago for one more year. I still need to look at the mail,return phone calls, e-mails,go grocery shoping, and return to Lake Geneva Wed, Thurs, & Fri.

I'm already home sick for the BWCA . No mail,phone,TV or need to remember what day it is.

"How sweet it is!"

[JohnWester]

i can vouch for the rain sunday.  Woke up around 6am... just getting the tent folded up and it starts to sprinkle.  By the time we got the canoe packed, was a solid rain.  It lasted the whole time we were paddling back to the acces point, and wouldn't you know it, it stops when we start loading gear into the truck.
so now i have wet gear spread out all over my garage drying out. 

[Harold]

BFG - Where were you up there?  Got a fishing report?

[JohnWester]

BFG - Where were you up there?? Got a fishing report?

we went in on lake one entry point last thursday and staye don hudson lake til sunday.  caught a few walleye and northen, and the smallies where hitting good.  had a few walleye on the stringer that was going to be dinner one night, and i think the snapping turtles got me.  so had to settle for a northern... still good though.

[UncleDave]

Just like the nutty no drill libs, this was another enviro crazy solution to enviro crazy earth killing.  Let he millions of usable board feet of lumber lie rotting because a truck and a chainsaw would kill the earth.  The very predictable fires happened in the BWCA (BWCAW).  Now we have Pelosi and radical liberals doing the same with oil and not allowing debate on oil drilling let alone congressional votes on this issue.  These folks (Democrats/liberals) are a few months away from having the house, senate and presidency to allow their radical views unmolested.  Their not allowing business to harvest trees down in the BWCA was passed by left wing liberals in local Minnesota politics by local Minnesota politicians.  Make no mistake.  These are the same folks who are now blocking the ability or ANY chance to lower gas prices by drilling.  If it took 10 years to lower prices by drilling now as quoted by liberal after liberal was true, better 10 years now than NEVER (that's if you believe that BS)!

[Lee Borgersen]

I like your way of thinking UncleDave and couldn't agree with you more.

                                               

[Lee Borgersen]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008
Washington man indicted for starting the Ham Lake fire
A 64-year-old man from Washington D.C. was indicted yesterday in 
federal court for
allegedly starting the 2007 Ham Lake fire that burned for more than a 
week, destroyed more than
75,000 acres of forest land and cost approximately $11 million to extinguish.
Stephen George Posniak was charged Oct. 20 in Minneapolis with one 
count of setting
timber afire, one count of leaving a fire unattended and 
unextinguished, and one count of giving
false information to a United States Forest Service officer.
Posniak's indictment alleges that on May 5, 2007, he did willfully and 
without authority set
on fire timber, underbrush, grass and other inflammable material upon 
lands owned by the U.S.
within the Superior National Forest. Specifically, Posniak allegedly 
burned paper trash and other
items that ignited a fire in the forest that burned approximately 
75,000 acres in the U.S. and
Canada and resulted in fire suppression costs of approximately $11 million.
The indictment also alleges that on May 5 Posniak started a fire 
within the forest that he left
without totally extinguishing, and allowed the fire to burn and spread 
beyond his control and
burn unattended.
It also alleges that on May 5 Posniak did knowingly give false, 
fictitious and fraudulent
information to U.S. Forest Service officers by stating that he camped 
overnight on Cross Bay
Lake, not Ham Lake, on the evening of May 4, 2007. Posniak allegedly 
told officers that he
encountered an out-of-control fire already burning at a Ham Lake 
campsite on the morning of
May 5 while paddling back through Ham Lake to Tuscarora Lodge.
If convicted, Posniak faces a potential maximum penalty of five years 
in prison on the
setting timber afire count, and six months each on the other two 
counts. All sentences are
determined by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service 
and the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources, and is being prosecuted by Assistant 
U.S. Attorney William J.
Otteson.
United States Department of Justice
United States Attorney's Office
District of Minnesota
News Release Frank J. Magill,
United States Attorney
David Anderson, Public Affairs Specialist
(612) 664-5684; cell: (612) 730-2251
-30-

[greatoutdoors]

I see you're on line, you old goat.  Isn't it past your bedtime?????

[Lee Borgersen]

If I'm an old goat I'd hate to mention what they call you. So it's good to see you back on the site . The last fishing report from the Ely area was 7/7/08 other than the one I put up in August after my trip there.

In regard to the bed time comment, I have no bed time since fishing guides never sleep we only doze here and there. Especially when you hit my age. Anyhow it's good to see your still alive and kicking. It would be nice to see a few of the fishing reports from the Ely area again. Looks like some early ice this year AAA.