May 8, 2007 12:22 am US/Central
Gunflint Trail Fire Blazes To 16,500 Acres
Grand Marais, Minn. (AP) ―
Firefighters called for reinforcements Monday as a wildfire continued to burn through the northeastern Minnesota forests, forcing evacuations and damaging dozens of buildings.
"You are going to see a lot more people here," said John Stegmeir, the incident commander. "We are just going to need more stuff to do what we need to do."
There were more than 200 firefighters on the scene as the fire grew to 16,500 acres -- more than twice its size on Sunday night. Stegmeir said he had requested more crews and the total number of firefighters would "easily double" in the next two days. Gov. Tim Pawlenty also authorized the National Guard to help fight the fire.
Meanwhile, the Cook County Sheriff's Department expanded its evacuation order for areas north and west of the Cross River, toward the end of the scenic Gunflint Trail.
The fire destroyed more than three dozen structures of various types and had forced the evacuation of about 100 people before the evacuation order was broadened, but officials said no one had been hurt.
The firefighters on the ground were supported by at least 10 aircraft, including helicopters and heavy planes capable of dumping huge loads of fire retardant foam. Stegmeir said he planned to bring in more aircraft.
Stegmeir spoke after fire crews had a tough night battling a wildfire that forced a mandatory evacuation on the west end of the Gunflint Trail road, although the northern progress of the fire had slowed by Monday.
However, the fire was still moving into the inhabited area at the end of the trail, said Carson Berglund, a spokesman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids.
"It was a bad day and night last night," Berglund said Monday. At the time, winds were gusting up to 30 mph with very little humidity.
The MIFC said Tuesday evening that 40 structures had been destroyed and at least 90 others were threatened. Sheriff Mark Berglund had said those structures ranged from hunting shacks to multimillion dollar buildings, but he didn't have specifics on what was burned.
However, the landmark Gunflint Lodge was safe, and the firefighting command post had been moved there, Berglund said. No injuries had been reported.
Although the whipping winds of Sunday where expected to die down a bit, the National Weather Service was still forecasting severe fire conditions for late Monday and Tuesday.
The fire advanced into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northeastern Minnesota on Sunday. Officials ordered people to leave the area along the last seven miles of the Gunflint Trail -- from the Seagull guard station north to the end of the two-lane, 60-mile highway that leads into the forest from Grand Marais.
Four structures without sprinkler systems near Sea Gull Lake burned, officials said, but declined to say which ones until the owners could be notified.
Firefighters were focused on protecting structures such as resorts and cabins along the Gunflint Trail and attempting to stop the fire from advancing to the northeast.
Authorities said they believed the fire started at a campsite on the northwest corner of Ham Lake, just outside the BWCA. It was reported around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. By Sunday evening, it had reached the Sea Gull Lake area within the BWCA, Berglund said.
The fire advanced on two different fronts Sunday. It headed north into the unpopulated BWCA. And it crossed over the Gunflint Trail directly west of the Seagull guard station at 1 p.m., officials said. Power was shut off past the guard station and the phone line past the station was lost.
A 1999 windstorm toppled millions of trees in and near the BWCA, and Berglund said some of the fire had reached the blowdown area, though previous controlled burns have reduced fuel loads in that direction. Sunday's evacuation triggered was part of a plan developed following the storm.
Northeastern Minnesota has been in a drought since last summer, and the federal Climate Prediction Center lists the area as being in severe drought now. No rain was expected for the next several days.
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