I spent opening weekend on the Gunflint Trail, but not fishing. Up in that country, a fire is burning. Local volunteer firefighters such as myself were called in to assist the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department with structure protection.

As has been well-documented by Minnesota media, the Ham Lake Fire has destroyed dozens of homes and cabins. The media coverage has leaned a little heavy on superlatives at times, but the fire is a major incident by any measure. It will surely earn a place among historic Minnesota wildfires.

While private property damage is a tremendous loss, there are positive aspects to fire. First, at this writing no loss of life or serious injuries have occurred. Second, after many decades of fire suppression and wilderness preservation intended to keep the forest in a static state, this event will change and revitalize the forest. Fire is an integral part of the boreal ecosystem.

What follows are some “inside” observations from the fire line.

Off to the Races

My friend Jesse Derscheid of Hovland happened to be working at Tuscarora Lodge on Saturday, May 5 when he smelled smoke. He and the lodge owner climbed a nearby ridge to get a view. In the distance, near Ham Lake, they spotted smoke. Then they saw flames licking the treetops.

“Once the fire crowned, it took off like a thoroughbred,” Jesse says.

Returning to the lodge, they called in the fire, which was rapidly heading their way. They evacuated Tuscarora with three vehicles, actually driving through the leading edge of the fire to reach the Gunflint Trail. For Jesse, it was an awe-inspiring, but sad experience. Working for a local propane supplier, he knows many folks along the Trail and has serviced many of the homes and cabins that were later destroyed by the blaze.

“I knew what was going to happen once the fire took off,” he says.

Cut and Run

Hot, windy weather on Thursday, May 10, fanned the flames, resulting in an emergency call for assistance from North Shore volunteer fire departments, including ours in Hovland. Near Mayhew Lake along the Gunflint Trail, members of our department saw a burning slash pile in a clearing and, with another department, stopped to extinguish it. The “spot fire” defied their initial efforts. They were unaware that an approaching inferno would soon make that a moot point.

“I looked behind us and saw the fire was coming toward us” says my friend Brian Sherburne. “The winds were very strong.”

Brian figured it was time to clear out. Just then, a DNR crew arrived and ordered them to do so. With the fire just one hundred yards away and rapidly closing the distance, they had no choice but to cut the hose lines at the truck, then jump in and go.

The next day, we found the charred hoses lying in a massive blackened area. Brian took a chunk of hose to mount on the wall of our fire department training room as a memento from the Ham Lake Fire.

Impressive Hot Shots

While on fire duty, we watched the deployment of hot shot teams. The hot shots are elite wildfire crews that travel across the country fighting fires. They are the grunts on the ground who build fire lines and battle the blaze with portable water pumps, chain saws, and hand tools. Hot shots are young, well trained, and work with military discipline.

On Friday, May 11, a school bus loaded hot shots pulled up at our location, accompanied by a pickup loaded with their tools. The crew, which included two young women, quickly and quietly assembled their gear, formed a single file line, and marched into the woods. Immediately, they fired up their chain saws and went to work clearing a fire line. Soon the sound of their saws was an increasingly distant buzz. They returned just before nightfall, marching single file, and broke down as quickly as they set up. They are truly hot shots.

Minnesota’s Best Fire Department?

The Gunflint Trail Fire Department deserves praise for extraordinary preparedness. Without their hard work to prepare evacuation plans, set up portable sprinkler systems to protect structures, and maintain a remarkable ability to function under duress, the Ham Lake Fire may have become a human tragedy. Even though many members had been evacuated from their homes, the department very capably handled its responsibilities.

Hats off the Chief Dan Bauman and the Gunflint Trail Fire Department.

Hurry Up and Wait

We brought a 2,300 gallon tanker truck to the fire. Our job was to provide water to the North Shore volunteer departments that were protecting structures in the vicinity of Iron Lake. We spent Friday, May 11, stationed along the Gunflint Trail. Action was often slow in our vicinity, so we passed the time watching the passing traffic. It was quite the show.

All manner of vehicles drove past. We saw fire trucks from departments across the state. We saw wildfire crews from federal agencies, Indian tribes, and more. We saw Minnesota conservation officers who were providing enforcement and patrolling to prevent looting ion the evacuated area. But the most amazing thing we saw was an endless parade of folks who were driving rental cars and SUVs. We assumed they part of the fire’s administrative bureaucracy.

We also saw something else. Local responders, state COs, and fellow fire departments gave us friendly waves. By and large, the federal folks did not. We quickly learned that in the wildfire hierarchy, local volunteers are on the bottom rung.

Awesome Air Show

Water drops by helicopters and aircraft are an important part of a wildfire attack. On several occasions, we watched the air show used to control the flames. Since there was an abundance of lakes in the vicinity, the aircraft were able to quickly refill and make multiple drops in a short amount of time. Often, two aircraft were working the same place with amazing synchronicity. All agreed the pilots earn their keep.

We Made a Difference

On Sunday, May 13, fire flared up in the forest very near several cabins on Iron Lake. Four firefighting units responded quickly and effectively to squelch the flames, using our tanker truck for water support. All of the structures are still standing. We felt good about that.