Piragis Northwoods Company News and Reviews

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition: Homecoming

2012-01-10T08:47:00.001-06:00

I wound up staying up all night last night after I got back to basecamp at 4:30am. It was a wonderful morning spent with Masatoshi who is currently trying to summit Hunter.

Paul Rodrick, owner of Talkeetna Air Taxi accompanied by Stevie and Dmitri flew into basecamp at 2:45pm today to pick me up. It was wonderful to see them as well as knowing I wouldn’t have to spend anymore nights underneath the snow.

3 showers, 2 beers and 1 good dinner back in Talkeetna and it’s time to hit the sack… or better yet a REAL BED.

Be sure and check back frequently. As we sort through many images and video from the expedition we will be sharing them here. We’ll also keep you informed as presentations and other events unfold.

I want to thank you again for following along on my expedition. I appreciate all the well wishes and prayers that were sent my way.

~Lonnie

#14 Little Indian Sioux North Loop: Mid-June 2011

2012-01-09T13:35:00.007-06:00

A few days after Zane and I got back from the Snowbank Loop, I finally decided to buy a black lab puppy. I had been considering getting a pup for some time and I was lucky enough to find Agnes, the last pup of a small litter of 3. Agnes was 8 weeks old when I got her. One week later, I took her on her first Boundary Waters trip.

Zane had the same days off as I did so he decided to come too. We decided that we were going to do the P-Loop out of #14 Little Indian Sioux North. We both worked until 2:00 on our “Friday”, and with the long days up here in June, we decided to leave right from work. This gave us an extra night in the woods. We were packed and ready to go so we could leave immediately after work.

We were on the way up to #14 by 2:15, and on the water by about 3:30. This gave us plenty of time to get a good start on the loop, which we needed since this was Agnes’s first trip and we weren’t sure how much, if at all, she would slow us down. I realize this route might be a little ambitious for a puppy’s first trip, but I thought starting her young would help her get used to being in the canoe and camping.

Agnes’s first portage was no problem. Fortunately, we only had two small packs and the canoe, so the guy without the canoe just took Agnes on the leash. Getting Agnes to walk well on the leash, however, is another story, but we have been working on that.

To my surprise, she did well in the canoe too. I put a kneeling pad down in front of my seat for her to lie on, and, after loading the packs into the canoe, I set Agnes inside. She was antsy at first, but once I got into the canoe and was able to make her sit still, she got the idea and relaxed. We were on the move.

With a little bit of coaxing, Agnes did fairly well while we were traveling. She excitedly took in all the new sights and smells. We made our way down the river, portaging and paddling our way to Upper Pauness. Helping Agnes in and out of the boat was slowing our pace a little bit, but at this point we were confident that she would not slow us down too much to do the entire loop.

We made our way, via the 40 rod portage to Lower Pauness. Next, we checked out Devil’s Cascade on the way back to the Little Indian Sioux River. If you haven’t had a chance to see Devil’s Cascade it is definitely worth checking out, especially when the water is high and the river is gushing over the rocks. As you are portaging past, don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate the cascade.

That would be our last portage for the next five miles or so. Once we got Agnes settled in the boat, we continued paddling. As we approached the end of the river, where we were going to veer into East Loon Bay, Agnes was bored of sitting and started to get anxious. A short shore break to let her stretch and we were moving again. We passed a couple of really nice campsites and beaches in East Loon Bay on our way into Little Loon Lake. We continued to the campsite on the north side of the lake and set up our camp.

Agnes was glad to get out of the boat and run around. I was worried about her running off, but as it turns out, she stayed within eyesight the whole time. I feed Agnes while Zane got some water boiling for dinner. Shepard’s Pie with Beef from Backpacker’s Pantry, delicious. We cleaned up camp as it was starting to get dark, and I started a small fire. We relaxed for a bit, doused the fire, and then retired to the tent.

Having a puppy in the tent can be an adventure, but overall, Agnes did pretty well. I only had to let her out once during the night. She was up early, which meant I was too. I got some hot water ready for oatmeal and fed Agnes breakfast. Soon, Zane was up. We ate, tore down camp, and were on the water before we knew it.

We started the morning with a fairly long portage into Slim Lake. The farthest campsite to the north on Slim is a fantastic spot, definitely worth checking out if you are in the neighborhood. The next stretch of our route consisted of a short paddle, to a portage over a hill, to another short paddle, to another up/down portage, and so on. We cruised; the puddle jumping was good for the dog. It let her stretch and helped to keep her from getting too antsy.

We went from Slim, to Section 3 Pond, to South Lake, a longer portage to Strup Lake, east into Eugene Lake, over to Little Beartrack Lake, to Beartrack Lake, a 200 rod portage into Thumb Lake, finally a short walk over to Finger Lake, where we took a break for lunch. This stretch is one of my favorites in the Boundary Waters. It is incredibly beautiful, with gorgeous shorelines and rock faces, and is a great place for seclusion. In fact, Zane and I didn’t see another boat in this area. It is a little bit of work to get into all of these small lakes but is certainly worth the effort.

After a quick lunch, we continued on our way to Pocket Lake. Pocket is a great place to set up camp for a few nights if you get a chance. There are a couple of amazing campsites and you are usually secluded. It is an incredible place. Now it was time for us to turn south. We took Pocket Creek into Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek. This spot might be tricky with low water.

At this point in the day, we had done a lot of uphill portaging, and I was starting to get a little tired. We decided to take a quick break once we got on to Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake. We ate some GORP, took a breather, and moved on. As we paddled, Agnes fell asleep on the bottom of the boat. She must have been tired too. She would sleep the rest of the day while we traveled, just waking up long enough to do the portages.

We moved on to Green Lake, then to Rocky Lake. It was getting late in the afternoon, so we didn’t look for the pictographs, but should you be passing through see if you can find them. We moved on from Rocky to Oyster Lake, where we decided to set up camp.

The first site on Oyster was taken by only the second group of people we had seen all day. We continued along the peninsula and took the campsite on the point. This was a great site. It had plenty of room for a couple of tents, a decent spot to swim, a great spot to sit and look out on the lake or at the stars, and a really neat trail leading around the peninsula.

Exhausted, we set up camp and ate dinner. I fed Agnes and we cleaned up camp. We had about 45 minutes of daylight left, so I decided to hike around the point with Agnes. I watched the sunset, headed back to the campsite, and hit the hay.

Again, the dog and I were up early. We had the usual quick breakfast and got right on the water. I was still sore from yesterday, and we had a pretty long ways to go to finish the loop. The day started with a 310 rod portage into Hustler Lake. This portage was broken up by a small flooded spot that we needed to paddle across, which was better than doing the whole portage without a break. We cruised through Hustler and did the quick portage into Ruby Lake. The portage from Ruby to Lynx Lake was another long one.

At this point in the trip, Agnes was tired. She begrudgingly walked the portages and napped while we were paddling, but all in all she did exponentially better than I expected. From Lynx, we continued into Little Shell Lake, then to Shell Lake, another long portage back into Lower Pauness. This time, we took the short portage to Upper Pauness and then got back onto the river, which we followed back to the truck.

Overall, this was a really fun trip. I was very pleased with how Agnes did on her first camping trip, and we saw a lot of really great territory. I was, however, exhausted; it was a good tired though. This was a grueling route and Zane and I pushed ourselves a little bit, but it was a very memorable adventure.

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 19: Full Moon

2012-01-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

Sunday the 8th was spent trying to travel from 7,800ft to 7,200ft basecamp. Though the elevation is minimal, the distance is long. Lonnie had called in at about 5:30pm yesterday evening saying he had just been caught in the worst blizzard he’d traveled in 25 years. Whiteout conditions with howling winds prevented Lonnie from being able to leave the bamboo wand he was next to and continue on. The bamboo wands were previously placed on the ascent so that Lonnie would know where the crevasses lye and could ski following them without a ladder on the descent.

He then tried to dig down, but hit solid ice only three feet below him and then walked as far as the visibility would allow, tried digging down again and ran into the same problem. Lonnie, laying flat in a snowcave no more than 18in high, tried to get a few hours of rest through the weather conditions. Luckily he had warm water from earlier, but couldn’t even tilt the bottle up to drink from it without hitting the top of his snowcave 5in above him.

At around 2:30am the weather subsided leaving clear skies and a perfectly full moon. Lonnie could not see his bamboo wands, but could see where basecamp was from the well lit skies so then decided to push on via a new route using wind navigation. The image above is from Lonnie’s Peary Centennial North Pole Expedition in 2009 and shows navigation via wind and sun.

At 4:30am Alaska time Lonnie phoned in to say he’d arrived at basecamp. We’re all thankful he’s in a safe area and will hopefully be picked up this morning via Talkeetna Air Taxi if the weather allows. We’ll let you know as soon as Lonnie is safe & sound and back in Talkeetna.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 18: Lower Kahiltna Ski

2012-01-09T08:47:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Lonnie made it from 11,200ft to 7,800ft. He skied down following his bamboo wands placed from the ascent. The visibility was so poor that at first he could not see where his bamboo wands were, but then eventually found two land masses along the Kahiltna Glacier that allowed him to eventually find his bamboo wands and follow them down to 7,800ft.

When Lonnie arrived at the snow cave around 5pm yesterday he ended the evening with a Mountain House lasagna meal and tea before hitting the sack.

Lonnie Dupre called in around 8:30am this morning before heading out and left the three audio updates below for everyone. These go into detail on the extremes he encountered on his descent.

Last year Lonnie punched through numerous crevasses on the lower Kahiltna Glacier and will be taking extra precaution as he travels over it today. He hopes to be at the 7,200ft basecamp by late this afternoon. We’ll keep you posted as we hear from Lonnie on his descent.

Meanwhile, we want to thank every one of you for following this expedition so closely and our sponsors for their generous support:

ENERGIZER: To light his way Dupre used an Energizer® Ultimate® Lithium LED headlamp, and powering his equipment during the extreme cold with light weight Energizer® Ultimate Lithium batteries. Without Energizer® the communications on the mountain would not have been possible.

Gunflint Tavern: We want to thank Gunflint Tavern from Lonnie’s home town Grand Marais, MN for their financial support for Polar Climb 1.

Herbalife: “During my training and acclimatization in Colorado I have been using Herbalife 24 PROLONG® to sustain my energy on those long workout days in high altitude when you need that extra lift.” -Lonnie Dupre

Rab- Rab supplied the entire Polar Climb 1 team with top of the line insulation gear from primaloft® jackets to merino wool base layers and more. We want to thank Rab for keeping Lonnie toasty at -72F temperatures.

MSR: Thank you for providing DragonFly® stove and fuel to keep Lonnie warm in his snow caves, melt snow for water and cook those delicious mountain meals.

Adventurers & Scientists for Conservation: A big thanks partnering up with Lonnie Dupre for a greater cause. The microbe samples collected on Denali will give a better understanding of how climate change will affect the production of living matter in extreme environments.

MTA: MTA provided the entire Polar Climb 1 team with mobile devices used to transmit video, audio and images from Denali this winter.

Buck’s Radio shack: Buck’s Radio Shack in Grand Marais, MN provided the satellite phone used for communication on Lonnie’s climb. Without this we would have not been able to communicate with Lonnie on the mountain.

Wintergreen Northern Wear: A big thanks to Wintergreen for keeping Lonnie warm and dry on the mountain. Lonnie was provided with custom made bibs made to Lonnie’s specifications for Denali and the Wintergreen® Expedition Shell Anorak allowed Lonnie to withstand the powerful winds of Denali.

Midwest Mountaineering: Over the years Midwest Mountaineering has provided Lonnie countless items needed for his Polar and mountaineering expeditions.

HumanEdgeTech: Thank you for providing lightweight and user-friendly software and hardware solutions for communication on Polar Climb 1.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 17: The Descent

2012-01-07T16:13:00.001-06:00

After 16 days on North America’s Tallest mountain, including past 7 days spent in a 4×4 snow cave from brutal weather, Lonnie Dupre on Friday abandoned his effort to become the first person to scale Denali alone in the month of January.

Lonnie spent 7 days and 6 nights in a 4×4 snow trench in up to 97mph winds, but still remained mentally strong and physically healthy with every intention on continuing upward.

Spending all of yesterday analyzing weather it seemed that there may be a possible break in the winds for a day, but then picking up after a series of low pressure systems blow over to the South. This would possibly allow Lonnie to climb to 17,200ft (high camp), but would then pick up again and not diminish in the foreseeable future. To be stuck at high camp with only 8 days worth of supplies is too big of a gamble without having at least a three days of probable weather.

Lonnie Dupre, having great appreciation for mother nature, had to make the call Friday to descend after counting rations and fuel and adding those up with the weather probability. “Due to poor weather, low visibility and extreme winds, I was forced to make the decision to descend after receiving word that there was another week of the daunting weather around the corner. You just can’t climb being blown off your feet!” -Lonnie Dupre.

We do not see this climb as a failure, but as a truly inspiring man testing the limits of dark, cold extremes to bring attention to climate change. Lonnie will be also be descending with the microbe samples collected for Adventurers & Scientists for Conservation‘s study of how climate change will affect the production of living matter in extreme environments.

Lonnie spent the day in heavy winds climbing from 14,200ft over 1,000ft to collect his stashed gear on the Headwall and then descending all the way down to 11,200ft. On his descent yesterday Lonnie managed to get around Windy Corner without being blown off his feet by using both ice axes and crampons to dig in as the gusts would hit him. He then proceeded down Squirrel Hill, an ice slope at 12,000ft, in the dark. The gusts were up to 80mph and blew Lonnie off his feet, but was able to self arrest. He then had to down-climb the remaining 3/4 of Squirrel Hill backwards daggering with both ice axes and using crampons to prevent being blown off his feet again.

Lonnie arrived at 11,200ft yesterday evening after a very long day of traveling over 4,000ft in various elevations. We’ll keep you posted on his progress on the journey back to 7,200ft as we hear from Lonnie.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount Mckinley Expedition Day 16: 97 MPH

2012-01-07T16:11:00.001-06:00

Lonnie called in throughout last night reporting heavy winds. NOAA Aviation was reporting gusts up to 97mph throughout the night and early morning hours today.

At about 1:30am this morning Lonnie spent an entire hour in the heavy winds outside securing gear and making sure the snow cave was not being effected by the extreme winds. The winds were so strong that the snow was literally being picked up and thrown into Lonnie’s face almost suffocating him. To spend anymore amount of time in them would be almost impossible, but managed to secure all gear and see that the cave was not damaged. The upside to spending a week in a snow cave is that it is reinforced with ice inside so becomes much more stable.

Unfortunately, there is no major change to report in the weather today and possibly not for the coming days. Lonnie is still doing well on food and fuel at 14,200ft, but in need for much better weather probability to move to high camp. Today Lonnie will spend his 7th day inside his 4×4 snow cave. Meanwhile basecamp will be working hard with the pilots in the area on gathering and analyzing weather data. We so appreciate these pilots volunteering so much time into helping us with weather predictions.

Lonnie is now getting a little more weather-forced rest, but remains in high spirits and is feeling healthy. His minor frostbit fingers are doing well as he remains taking extra care of them. Lonnie wanted to say a big thanks to everyone following along for your constant support. He has been moved by the number of people that has taken such an interest in this climb.

We will keep you all posted with the weather conditions in the coming day. Until then, upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 15: Fickle Weather

2012-01-06T13:56:00.001-06:00

Unfortunately the winds did not subside as we had hoped. Lonnie woke up to to -30F and 45mph winds bringing the temperature down to a bitter -72F. Below is an audio update from Lonnie Dupre early this morning in his snow cave.

Lonnie will spend the day “cleaning house”, digging out his door and again stretching his legs outside his 4×4 snow cave.

We will again keep you posted on the conditions of the weather tomorrow. Meanwhile, remember to tune in to 91.1FM or stream live at Alaska Public Radio website at 2pm or 7pm Alaska time to listen to Lonnie being featured on Addressing Alaskans. A few days before he departed for Denali basecamp, Lonnie talked about preparing for the solo ascent of Denali in winter and his 25 year career as a polar explorer at REI in Anchorage. Enjoy!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 14: Anticipation

2012-01-05T08:42:00.000-06:00

The day started at 5am this morning… milling over weather and trying to decide what to do. The early morning calm winds ended, picking up right as Lonnie was dressed and ready to start the climb to 17,200ft. Unfortunately they were bad enough to prevent him from moving up.

We’re constantly trying to get a good read on the weather. It’s tough enough to predict weather here in town let alone on a mountain like Denali. Tomorrow looks better, but we won’t know for sure until early morning whether or not Lonnie will be able to travel to 17,200ft camp.

Lonnie spent the day doing getting a little exercise near his snow cave and then spent some more time on his boots. He wound up taking off buckles for unneeded weight and then tore out the boot’s tongue to make more room for his toes. He’s now in his 14,200ft snow cave getting ready to make dinner and hit the sack.

With only a couple of days from the summit, Lonnie’s enthusiasm is contagious. We’re all anticipating a good couple of days of weather and know that when that happens this climb will be a success. We appreciate all the excitement and support from all of you and will let you know what the day brings tomorrow. Upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 13: Rest at 14,200

2012-01-04T08:59:00.001-06:00

Lonnie is taking a day off to rest due to high wind and cold temperature. He’s only two travel days away from the summit, but will need ideal travel conditions for these two, very long days.

Dupre remains in good spirits and is well rested now. His toes didn’t get cold because he had made new liners for his boots from his vapor barrier originally for sleeping in. Lonnie said he shouldn’t have to use it from here on out and was worth the trade off for warm toes.

Lonnie will call around 5:30am tomorrow morning for a weather report in hopes of beginning his ascent to 17,200ft camp.

Looking for a good way to support the expedition? Lonnie Dupre spent the last ten years working on his new book, Life On Ice: 25 Years Of Polar Exploration, which includes a 32-page color insert of extraordinary Arctic images. This book covers 25 years of Dupre’s polar exploration, including the world’s first circumnavigation of Greenland and One World Expedition, a summer expedition to the North Pole that reached 68 million people worldwide. Over the past two decades, Dupre has lived and traveled with the Arctic Inuit, bringing their culture to the rest of the world. He has also worked with and gathered data for organizations such as the National Geographic Society, Greenpeace, the Explorers Club, the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the U.S. Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Wherever he goes, Dupre attracts media attention all over the world. This is your chance to see the inside story on all his expeditions.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 12: Headwall

2012-01-04T08:54:00.002-06:00

We (Dmitri & Stevie) had the excitement of flying over Lonnie today with captain Paul Roderick from Talkeetna Air Taxi. Temperature on the mountain ranged from -50F to -60F with windchill where Lonnie was.

After he taxied his gear to higher elevation Lonnie began his descent. Having had stuck his gloves for a brief moment between his knees, one slipped out and rolled down the Headwall. Twenty minutes later Lonnie was reunited with his lost glove. Unfortunately, he got minor frostbite on six of his fingers from exposure during that time. He said he’s had it before and knows how to maintain it to where it doesn’t get any worse.

Needless to say, Lonnie will not be traveling from 14,200ft to 17,200ft until the winds are more calm or the temperature rises. We’re hoping that happens tomorrow, but will have to wait for a more up to date weather report to know for sure if travel conditions are safe.

Frostbite and all Lonnie sounded very positive and healthy. He enjoyed chicken noodle soup and lasagna for dinner. We’ll give an update on progress tomorrow as soon as we know what’s going to happen with the weather. Upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 11: Prep for High Camp

2012-01-02T08:40:00.001-06:00

Lonnie woke up to -60F windchill weather this morning outside of his snow cave at 14,200ft. On the bright side the sun was out without a cloud in the sky.

He spent today organizing gear, food and fuel for high camp. Lonnie will spend tomorrow taxiing three quarters of his gear up the headwall to 16,000ft and then return to 14,200ft to spend the night. After that he will take the remainder of his gear and move up to high camp at 17,200ft. This will also allow him to acclimatize properly in prevention of pulmonary edema.

Lonnie is now in his snow cave enjoying Mountain House’ Tuscan Chicken Fettucini and listening to A Prairie Home Companion.

Meanwhile, join us on Twitter and Facebook for various updates!

Update from:www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 10: Windy Corner

2012-01-02T08:38:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year from Denali!

It’s 9pm Alaska time on New Year’s Eve and Lonnie is just calling in after one long day. He finished building his snow trench at around 8:15pm this evening and is now working on getting dinner started.

Lonnie spent the day working his way from 12,700ft to 14,200ft. He managed to work his way up Windy Corner which withheld it’s powerful gusts just long enough for him to work his way around it.

Once Dupre climbed above windy corner he encountered numerous, large crevasses from where the Birchron Glacier comes off of Denali.

The weather today consisted of gusts plummeting the wind chill down to -60 Fahrenheit. Lonnie said he had to keep kicking his feet for at least half the day in order to keep them warm.

Tomorrow is a day of resting, charging all electronics and organizing all supplies for high camp.

Until next time, upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 9: Media/Update

2011-12-31T08:26:00.002-06:00

Lonnie checked in at about 7:30pm this evening. He’s doing great and is working on hauling his gear to a higher elevation in preparations for the next 8 or 9 days.

When speaking with Lonnie this morning he mentioned that he was going to take it pretty easy due to the fact that he hadn’t slept at all the previous night.

We’ll be speaking with him at some point tomorrow evening and will be able to update with more detail at that time.

Meanwhile, we’d like to share a few wonderful recent news pieces done on Lonnie’s Polar Climb 1:

KTNA: Lonnie Dupre ready for 2nd Solo try for Denali in Darkest Month

MPR: The things we’d do if we could

REI: Lonnie Dupre Begins Solo Winter Attempt on Denali

Until next time, upward!

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 8: Taxi to 12,300FT

2011-12-31T08:24:00.001-06:00

Today Lonnie will be taxing half of his gear up to the 12,300ft camp. He will then return to the 11,200ft camp tonight and then carrying the remainder of his gear back up to 12,300ft tomorrow.

We received coordinates at about 2pm today with Lonnie’s location at 12,300ft where he will also be collecting rock samples. These samples are for scientist Dragos Zaharescu from the Biosphere 2 project at the University of Arizona.

Dupre is partnering with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation to collect microbe samples; helping to gain unique insights into the functioning of extreme environments.

“The goal of the data collection is to help scientists understand how nutrient cycling is affected by climate change. Basically, this means we can begin to understand how climate change will affect the production of living matter in extreme environments.” -Lonnie Dupre

Knowledge of this process is also likely to reveal vital clues about the evolution of microbes-rock interaction in these extreme boundary environments and its potential response to alterations in the environmental equilibrium such as climate change.

We will be in correspondence with Lonnie at some point tomorrow evening when he returns to his 12,300ft camp and will then update with details.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 7: 11,200FT Camp

2011-12-31T08:22:00.001-06:00

Lonnie made the long haul from 9,600ft to 11,200ft today. Weather included variable winds and limited visibility. None the less he pushed onward. It might have been something to do with spending the last 36 hours stuck inside a snow cave. On the good side, Dupre said he was able to fit in a whopping 15 hours of sleep within that time. Well rested, he started packing up at about 6:30am for his next camp.

Lonnie’s is now tucked away in a new snow cave cooking up a little Mountain House meal.

Tomorrow, with promising weather Lonnie will most likely be moving on.

Right now it’s about -40 degrees outside on the mountain. Lonnie said he can keep his snow cave heated to about 30 degrees and claims it is warm enough for him. Traveling during the day he keeps warm by moving constantly. He only rests and takes his pack off once a day. That’s usually just to get more bamboo wands out of his sled for flagging.

He remains in good spirits and appreciates everyone sending prayers and well wishes his way. Until tomorrow… Upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 6: R&R

2011-12-31T08:19:00.002-06:00

Due to poor visibility on Denali, Lonnie will be catching a little R&R today.

He will remain at 9,600ft in his snow cave, which is just large enough to sit up in. He plans on taking a long nap until about 3pm today, writing in his journal and then having bacon and cranberry pemican for dinner.

Lonnie is using an MSR stove(shown above). He has trusted MSR stoves for many of his Polar and Denali expeditions. A reliable stove is a must, and would be a life and death situation if it were to break. It’s used for cooking and most importantly melting snow for drinking water. It burns 20oz of white gas for approximately 126 minutes and weighs only 14oz. Lonnie said he is very happy with how it has been functioning on Denali.

Tomorrow, Dupre will be heading up to the 11,200ft camp as long as the weather clears enough for him to see at least 100ft ahead. We’ll keep you posted on his progress tomorrow. Upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 5: Movin on up

2011-12-27T08:33:00.001-06:00

Today is Lonnie’s fifth day on the mountain. Today he went from 7,800ft to 9,600ft, a huge pull. He’s making fantastic progress and feels good.

The picture above is from earlier today. He wanted to show everyone his Christmas tree in his snow cave. He made the Santa Clause ornament from his chocolate wrapper and his Christmas tree star from the foil.

Tomorrow is forecasted to snow with variable winds up on Denali. Depending on visibility Lonnie will try to make it to 11,200ft.

Yann Tiersen and Vivaldi accompanied Lonnie on his long trek today up to 9,600ft. He’s currently having chili mac and beef for dinner.

We’ll keep you posted on Lonnie’s progress tomorrow when he checks in. Upward!

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 4: Christmas

2011-12-26T09:29:00.003-06:00

Lonnie spent Christmas day cuddled in his snow cave, Christmas tree and all.

The weather wasn’t horrible, but not optimal for travel with the limited visibility. He decided to take the chance at having a little down time and preparing for his next push up to 9,500 feet on the upper Kahiltna where he hopes to be at by tomorrow evening. He continues to probe every step of the way on the upper Kahiltna followed by leaving his bamboo wands as markers.

When we received the call he was cooking chicken noodle soup and having tea. Then there’s chocolate for dinner, of course.

Dupre was in great spirit and wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 3: Ski Hill

2011-12-26T09:28:00.001-06:00

We spoke with our pilot Danial from Talkeetna Air Taxi today and said they spotted Lonnie on the glacier, trucking right along. As his travels up the lower Kahiltna Glacier draw to an end he begins heading to the upper Kahiltna. He plans to make it up to about 9,000ft tomorrow weather depending.

Weather conditions continue to change for the upcoming days. A low pressure is skirting over the area leaving snow over the next day or two and winds on the mountain are going to be an estimated 25kts.

After just speaking with Lonnie he says he’s camped at what is know as Ski Hill which is right at the beginning of the upper Kahiltna. He is putting up his Christmas tree(tiny spruce branch) and having Mountain House Pasta Primavera for dinner.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 2: Kahiltna Glacier

2011-12-26T09:23:00.002-06:00

We just received a call via satellite phone from Lonnie. His spirits remain high as he progresses up the Kahiltna Glacier. He encountered crevasses, but his skis worked well spanning them and/or maneuvered around them.

Lonnie said outside of sore feet from traveling he’s feeling great. He mentioned that the surface travel weather is good over the glacier.

According to forecast, the weather will remain stable over next few days or so. He will be phoning in sometime around 7:30pm Alaska time tomorrow. We’ll post news as soon as we receive it.

He’s now enjoying some lasagna inside his snow cave and wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and to all a good night…

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition: Day 1

2011-12-26T09:20:00.002-06:00

Lonnie called in yesterday from base camp and planned to start moving up the Kahiltna Glacier sometime around 9:30am this morning. He’s hoping to make it up about half way before dark. It will be slow going due to heavy snow fall which inhibits ones sense to see the glaciers crevasses. Lonnie will be probing one step at a time as he moves upward.

Meanwhile here is some coverage of Lonnie departing:

KTUU: Lonnie Dupre Begins January Denali Summit Effort

“January on Mt. McKinley is something a little like the dark side of the moon, with winds of 100 mph, temperatures that plunge to -50 degrees Fahrenheit and a scarce six hours of daylight. (Eric Sowl/KTUU-DT)”

KTVA: Man Attempts First January Solo Climb of McKinley

“It’s a feat that’s never been done before – a solo summit on Mount McKinley in January. A Minnesota man is taking on the challenge.”

Duluth News Tribune: Grand Marais adventurer begins winter ascent of Mount McKinley

“After waiting out some weather, Dupre flew 60 miles from Talkeetna, Alaska, to an elevation of 7,200 feet at a base camp on North America’s highest mountain. It’s where he’ll begin his second bid to become the first solo climber to reach the summit of McKinley in January. More than a foot of snow fell on the area Tuesday and Wednesday, preventing an earlier arrival on the mountain.”

Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation Blog

“Only nine expeditions totaling 16 people have ever reached the summit of Denali in winter. Six deaths resulted from those climbs. Only one team (comprised of three Russian climbers) has ever made the summit in January…the dead of winter. Of those nine original expeditions, four were solo, but none of those individuals have been in January, the darkest and coldest time.”

As the day progresses we’re expecting to receive update on Lonnie’s exact location and hopefully an audio update. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you updated as soon as information becomes available.

Update from: www.lonniedupre.com

Snowbank Loop

2011-12-24T10:28:00.004-06:00

For some trips, I like to fish, but for others, I like to put on some miles. It can be difficult to get out into the BWCA during the summer, as there is a lot of work to do, but I usually try to get out on my weekend (which is never the actual weekend). I had June 1^st and 2^nd off, and so did my roommate Zane. We decided to head into #27 Snowbank Lake and do an overnight loop.

We got a nice early start on the morning of the 1^st. Zane packed the gear, while I packed our food, just some summer sausage, cheese, gorp, and a couple of really great freeze dried dinners. We were going to be travelling and only out for one night, so we tried to pack as little as possible. We managed to fit everything into two small comfortable packs. The weather forecast called for rain on the 2^nd, but that didn’t bother us; we would simply paddle in the rain if need be.

We made it to the lake by 9:00, loaded up the canoe, and got started. It was a beautiful day, warm, sunny, and very little wind with hardly a cloud in the sky. We headed north and a little east toward Boot Lake. We saw a couple of groups camping on Snowbank, but overall, the lake was pretty quiet.

We portaged to Boot, quickly made our way across the lake, and then portaged into Ensign. The portage is marked as 220 rods, but it felt just a little bit longer. Like Snowbank, Ensign was pretty quiet. We saw a couple of boats paddling to the west, and a few people camping, but that was it. We continued east, and then north toward Vera Lake. We traversed our way across the up-and-down portage to Vera.

Vera was a little disappointing. It a small, skinny lake but very pretty with some nice rock formations. The problem was there was a fleet of 7 or 8 boats sitting in the middle of the narrowest part of the lake talking loudly and fishing. By rule, this is illegal. Four is the maximum number of boats allowed to be together at any time. It is clear why this rule exists. The fleet totally encroached on our solitude and damaged our wilderness experience. It was very frustrating and was a good reminder that BWCA regulations are in place for a reason and we all need to make sure we follow them and the leave no trace principles.

We paddled the two miles across Vera and made the portage into Trader Lake. It was a short paddle across to Missionary Lake, another short paddle then a 180 rod portage into Skoota Lake. It was about a mile on Skoota, then a short portage into Dix, from there, a short portage to Spoon, then to Pickle, and finally into Kekekabic. The stretch from Vera to Kekekabic was a lot of puddle jumping, but the lakes were interesting, and we only saw one other boat through that stretch.

Once on Kekekabic, we decided to do a little exploring. We checked out a couple of campsites and had a late lunch at the site on the big island. Kekekabic is one of my favorite lakes. There are a couple of nice campsites and it is usually pretty secluded. We didn’t see anyone else on the lake. In the fall, the colors are extraordinary. It’s definitely a neat lake to spend a couple of days on.

Zane and I didn’t have a couple of days, so we kept moving. The portage from Kekekabic into Strup was moderately difficult because of the elevation change. Strup was a fast paddle and portage to Wisini Lake. Wisini is a small lake with a few campsites, but one really nice one. The site on the point is on a high rock facing west, overlooking the lake. There was a group camped here, so we didn’t get to take a close look at the site, but I will definitely be staying there in the future. On the south side of the lake there is a high rock edge. From a distance, there is grouping of rocks that sort of looks like a gorilla’s face. This is just an awesome little lake.

We headed from Wisini to Ahmakose Lake, to Gerund Lake, and finally to Fraser Lake. By now, it was late evening. We still had an hour or two of daylight left, but we had finished at least half our loop and thought it would be a good time to find a campsite. We passed a decent site on the north end of the lake, and found a really great site on a peninsula on the west side of the lake.

Zane set up camp while I got some water boiling for dinner. We had some Backpacker’s Pantry dinners. I had a Chicken with Potatoes and stuffing and Zane had some Beef Stroganoff. They were delicious. I am always amazed how good some of the freeze-dried dinners taste. We supplemented dinner with a little of Cache Lakes vanilla pudding for desert. It was a very satisfying dinner after a full day of paddling.

It was almost dark by the time we cleaned up dinner. There was no wind and no clouds above us, but we could see some clouds building on the western horizon and determined they must be the source of the forecasted rain. However, they were still hours away. Since it was so calm, I decided to do a little exploring near our campsite. Zane decided to stay behind, so I grabbed my headlamp and went out for a short evening paddle. It was fantastic; not a gust of wind. I paddled in the bay just to the north of our campsite, hoping to come across some wildlife, but with no luck. After a while, I paddled to the middle of the bay and just watched the night sky roll in. The stars were incredible. At first, there were only a few, but once it got dark, the sky was blanketed. I sat out an enjoyed the evening for a little while and then realized I was exhausted from a long day on the water and it was time for bed. I made my way back to camp in the dark and decided to call it night. As I was brushing my teeth before bed, I could see the cloud front in the west slowly erasing the stars from the sky. The front was picking up speed and size. We were definitely going to get some rain in the morning.

When I finally woke up, it had to be around 7:00. It wasn't raining yet, but it was ominous. Rather than trying to wait for the front to pass, Zane and I decided to just go for it. We were on our way out and getting soaked was not a big deal. We ate a quick breakfast of gorp and granola, cleaned up camp and hit the trail. By the time we were on the water the front was just about on top of us.

We made our way west and south toward Thomas Lake. The narrows between Fraser and Thomas were incredible. It is a tiny little channel with high rock edges on both sides. Incredible. As we reached the end of the narrows, it started to rain. By this time, the wind had picked up a little, but was still manageable. As we continued, the rain began to fall harder and the wind got stronger. We were able to skirt the shoreline for a while to stay out of the wind, but we came to a point where it made more sense to try and cross the lake. At this point, the wind was whistling and there were whitecaps on Thomas Lake. We saw another group of paddlers hunkered down on the other side of the lake waiting out the storm. We waited for a little bit. It looked like the storm would pass, but it was hard to tell how long it would take. Our impatience got the best of us and we decided we would go for it during the next short lull. The lull never came and after about 10 minutes of getting soaked by a torrential downpour, we decided to go for it.

The wind was still very strong, but it had died a little. At least it wasn’t at its strongest. We dug in and made the crossing. The other group saw us go for it, so they did the same. It was a little hard work, but we made it without incident. We made it to the portage, looked behind us (the other group was doing fine) and made our way across to Thomas Pond.

Thomas Pond took us to a channel that led us past Hatchet Lake, finally into Ima Lake. Ima is a neat lake with a couple of really nice campsites. After Ima we had to do a little puddle jumping. We went from Jordan, to Cattyman, to Adventure, to Jitterbug, to Ahsub, and finally into Disappointment Lake. As we passed through this stretch of small lakes, the weather turned from heavy rain and winds to scattered showers and a breeze. By the time we loaded the canoe on Disappointment Lake the rain had stopped. We paddled the 3+ miles through Disappointment and made the portage into Parent Lake. Then, it was across Parent, back onto Snowbank, and back to the landing. Soaked, we threw everything in the truck, loaded up the canoe, and made our way home. Another great trip, though it was short, was in the books.

2011 Spring Quetico Trip: Beaverhouse to Moose Lake

2011-12-06T15:04:00.011-06:00

Like many of you, I am starting to look forward to next year’s Boundary Waters trips. Realizing that my next canoe adventure is still roughly six months away, I thought it might be fun to share my 2011 trips with you. It is my hope that after reading, you will share your 2011 adventures with us. Enjoy!

I get out into the wilderness many times each summer, but the trip I look forward to most is the Quetico trip I take in the spring. This year Zane, Wade, and Vidmar (aka BLD) from the outfitting crew, Josh a good friend of Wade’s, and I made up our motley crew. The plan was to get a ride up to Beaverhouse Lake and paddle our way back to our parked car at the Moose Lake landing.

May 21, 2011

We met at 6:00AM by the outfitting barn at Piragis. We are lucky to have a couple of great friends who were willing to drive us the 4 or so hours that it takes to get up to Beaverhouse and then another 4 hours back home. Of course we made it worth their time, but their generosity doesn’t go unappreciated.

I am not sure what time we got to Beaverhouse. I was too excited to remember look at the clock in the van, and a watch is one thing I don’t carry with me when I am escaping into the woods. We made the short portage to the lake, said goodbye to our drivers, and hit the trail.

It was overcast, cool, and we had a pretty strong wind coming from the east. Paddling south from the put-in to the ranger station was a bit of challenge as we had a crosswind pushing us the whole way. We made it to the ranger station without incident, got the necessary permits and payments taken care of, and then were off to the heart of the Quetico wilderness.

We like to fish, but our route requires us to move a fair distance each day. The first day is usually a travel day, and this time was no different. It had to be a little after noon when we left the Ranger Station. Our plan was to get onto Quetico Lake and travel as far east towards Jean Lake that we could.

By now, the wind was whipping out of the east directly into our faces. Zane and I were in a Minnesota II and we were doing all we could to keep up with the other guys who were in a Minnesota 3. That extra paddler in a Minnesota 3 makes a big difference, especially paddling in the wind. Slowly, but surely, we made our way east. We paddled until the sun began to sink behind us in the western sky. We found a really great campsite on an odd shaped peninsula and decided to set up our first camp.

Vidmar, our food guru, aptly nicknamed BLD (short for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), started getting the fixings dinner together, while I built him a cooking fire. Zane worked on setting up our tent, while Josh and Wade looked for more firewood. Camp gets set up so smoothly when everyone pitches in.

We had just enough twilight to finish our dinner of steaks, potatoes, and cookies without our headlamps. I am not sure if it was the long day or Vidmar’s food packing expertise, but steaks have never tasted so delicious. After eating, we got a small fire going, cleaned up the dishes, and discussed our travel plans for the next day. It was an early night. We traveled a long ways, considering we started the day back in Ely.

May 22, 2011

I was up with day break. It was cool and overcast, but it didn’t look like any rain was in the mix. I could hear Vidmar stirring around in his tent, but everyone else was sleeping. I started boiling some water for coffee, and shortly after, Vidmar came out of his tent and started getting breakfast together. Slowly the rest of the crew emerged from their tents. Everyone grabbed a little coffee (except for me, I don’t drink coffee) and a quick breakfast.

We started to tear down camp and before we knew it, we were all loaded up and back into our canoes. After our evening discussion about the route, we decided this was going to be a travel day as well. We wanted to get as close to the Sturgeon Narrows as we could. We were not in a hurry, but the main focus of the day was moving.

From our campsite, we continued east and then south towards Conk Lake. We took the short portage into Conk, which was a small lake, but very interesting. It is almost separated into two smaller lakes by a marshy area. We didn’t investigate the west side of the lake as we wanted to continue moving. From Conk, we took another short portage into Jean Lake.

Jean Lake was beautiful. We had it all to ourselves, but we were not in explorer mode. We kept pushing east from Jean into Little Jean Lake. From Little Jean, we took the short portage into Yeh Lake. We stopped here and had a quick lunch of cheese, sausage, and crackers.

The portage out of Yeh Lake is a little difficult to find. It is actually located a little bit further south than it appears on the map. We were not the only ones who had trouble finding it. We could see a spot on the shoreline where many people have landed their boats by mistake.

The portage from Yeh into Lonely Lake was a little challenging. It was 300 rods and there was a little bit of elevation change, some swampy areas, and overall, quite difficult. It was worth it though. We saw some really huge white pines along the way and it was a beautiful walk through the woods. People often fret about the portages, but I always try to remind them to enjoy the walk through the woods. It’s a nice break from sitting in the canoe and the trails go through intensely beautiful natural areas. It really is one of my favorite parts of a canoe trip.

Once on Lonely, we head east, and then south to Lonely Creek, and from there onto the north part of the large body of Sturgeon Lake. By now, it had to be after dinner time as we were all getting hungry and tired. There would be no more portaging for the day so we got our fishing poles out to see if we could add some fresh fish to dinner. We fished our way east and a little south towards the campsite on the north side of Scripture Island. I caught a couple of small pike that were not worth cleaning and Zane caught a few small smallmouth bass, again too small to clean. Our boat made it to the campsite without anything for dinner. About 10 minutes behind us was the rest of the crew with two medium sized Lakers! I knew they would be good on the fire. Wade caught one and Josh the other.

It wasn’t the best site, but we were able to make due. It was a big sloping rock, but once you made it up the rock a ways there were a few nice spots to pitch a tent. Just as the night before, we each took a chore or two upon ourselves to get camp set up quickly. I grilled the Lakers and Vidmar prepared the rest of dinner. Josh, Wade, and Zane got the tents set up, gathered some fire wood, and set up a tarp because it looked like it was going to rain. Exhausted, we ate and sat by the fire for a while. Just as it began getting dark, it started to lightly rain, which meant it was time for bed.

May 23, 2011

There was a light rain for most of the night, just enough to make the ground damp when I walked out of the tent in the morning. Vidmar was already up with his tent mostly down. Wade and Josh were stirring and Zane quickly made his way out of the tent. Everyone seemed to be energized by the cool morning air. We quickly got breakfast and coffee, took down camp and hit the water. The sun was still low in the eastern sky as we paddled away from our campsite.

Today was the day we were looking forward to for exactly 364 days, since the last time we were in this part of Quetico Park. We were headed mostly north and a little east through Sturgeon Narrows and into Russell Lake. We had some of the best fishing I can remember through this stretch the year before.

We left camp fishing poles armed and ready. We had no real destination for the day; we were just going to ‘fish’ our way along and get however far that took us. We started fishing almost immediately. I was trolling an F-11 black and silver Rapala. I had a chartreuse and orange jig tipped with a pearl twister tail on my other rod for casting. Zane was spot casting for smallies with a sinking worm on a wide gap worm hook.

We paddled slowly, trolling the shoreline. When either Zane or I picked out a good spot I slowed us and he worked the area for smallies. Meanwhile, I would toss my jig down to the bottom. We did this for almost an hour, slowly making our way up into the Sturgeon Narrows, when finally, I had a strike. It was a small pike, but it was the first fish of the day. The ice was broken.

We caught a few fish as we passed through the Narrows. The channel between Russell Lake and the Narrows produced a couple of walleyes, but the current was moving much faster than it had in years past so it didn’t produce quite like we had hoped. We stopped for lunch on at a spot where we could fish into a deep hole with a little current running through. We devoured some GORP, jerky, cheese, crackers, and sausage and were able to pull a couple of decent sized walleyes out of the hole.

At this point we had a decision to make. We wanted to camp on Montgomery Lake at some point during this trip. It was not a priority, but if possible, we wanted to check it out. From where we were, and where we needed to get to make it out on time, we either needed to push for Montgomery right away, or we would have to skip it as it would not work logistically. After a bit of discussion, we decided to go for it.

This changed our fishing strategy a little, as we now had a pretty good distance to travel over the afternoon. Rather than ‘fishing’ our way along, we now decided to only try for walleyes, and only as we approached spots that we couldn’t pass up.

If you look at the map, in the area between Russell and Montgomery, part of the Poet’s Chain, the lakes are separated by a significant elevation change and a series of waterfalls. These falls are where we would focus our fishing.

This is one of my favorite spots in the wilderness. It is absolutely gorgeous. The falls are incredible. You are complete secluded. The fishing is superb. I do not have the words to adequately describe it.

First was Chatterton Falls. We pulled about a dozen good sized walleyes, a couple of 4+ pound smallies, and a couple of pike out of there. Next, after taking the difficult portage from Russell to Chatterton, was Split Rock Falls. Here again, we pulled up a bunch of great walleyes and couple of smallies. Then, it was over the portage, into Keats, another breathtakingly beautiful lake. Between Keats and Shelley Lake was Snake Falls and Have a Smoke Portage.

If you have never been here before it is something you definitely need to check out. There is a big rock, overlooking the eastern half of Keats. It is the perfect spot to relax with a great view of the lake and have a smoke, hence the name. We thought it appropriate to take a break and enjoy some cheap cigars. The view was stupendous, the company fantastic. It is moments like that these that make our time in the wilderness so special.

We could have stayed there for hours, enjoying the view, and catching fish from underneath the falls, but the sun was sinking in the sky and we still had a few miles to go. We finished our cigars, packed the fishing poles away, and made our way across the portage into Shelley Lake. Shelley Lake is a narrow loop around a large island. It is very interesting and beautiful. We stayed to the north of the island and headed directly for Montgomery Lake.

We found the short portage. By this time it was just starting to get dark. We were on Montgomery Lake, but the campsite we were looking for was not on the map, and none of us had been there before. We had a good idea of where it was, but it would not be easy to find in the dark. Zane and I paddled ahead to try and find the site. We searched and searched but could not find it. We found a few spots that might work, but we heard there was a fantastic spot on one of the islands. Finally, while there was still a little bit of light left, we saw what looked like a pile of rocks for a fire, high up on a rock overlooking the lake. We pulled over and Zane hiked up the side of the rock. Sure enough, this was the campsite. He pointed me around the island to a better landing where he met me. We signaled the other boat and they made their way over.

The campsite was incredible. There were two fire pits. One was high up on the rock, 30 or so above the water, overlooking the beautiful Quetico Lake. On the rock, there was enough room to cook dinner and relax next to the fire. It was a bit of a climb to get to the overlook. At the base of the overlook was a huge flat area with some really big white pines and enough space for a bunch of tents. Flat areas were separated by stands of trees. It was almost like each tent had its own ‘room’. Though there was all of this space, Zane and I decided to set our tent up on the top of the high rock. There was just enough space to squeeze our tent in up there. We had a dinner of campfire pizzas, enjoyed the evening for a while, and then hit the hay.

May 24, 2011

Again, I woke up with the birds, as I seem to do while I am on trail. The view from the tent was outstanding. The morning rising up over the lake, from our vantage point was incredible. We quickly cleaned camp and said goodbye to the best site I have ever stayed at.

This was another day of fishing our way along. We just wanted to get to a nice campsite on Kawnipi, which was only a few miles away. Zane and I were on the lake a little before the other guys and it did not take us long to find the walleyes. I tossed my jig along the high rock where our tent was set up, and sure enough, first cast, I caught a medium sized walleye. Then Zane caught one; then I did again. By the time the other guys were on the water, we have pulled in a half dozen or so really nice walleyes right off the campsite. They found a spot nearby and caught a bunch themselves. Within an hour we had already had a great day’s worth of fishing. We fished until the bite stopped and then continued on to the south part of Montgomery where we took a rather difficult 90 rod portage into Kawnipi.

We spent the entire day fishing Kawnipi. It was fantastic. We fished the western edge of the lake. It was a series of channels that ran to the west of Rose Island. We caught big walleyes, big smallies, even a couple of nice pike. Some of the walleyes we were catching had a blue tint to them. They are a separate sub species of walleyes that are only located in a few lakes, Kawnipi being one of them.

We fished until dark and then found a great campsite on a small island just south of Rose Island. We had a great evening trading fish stories. Since we did not travel too far, we made a nice fire and stayed up late into the night. The stars were incredible. The sky was absolutely full of the shinning little diamonds, and the Milky Way was as bright as I have seen. Great day, great fishing, great friends, great sky, it was really an extraordinary day.

May 25, 2011

We got an early start, and again, got on the water ASAP. The fishing was so good the day before that we decided to fish our way off of Kawnipi. Wade, Josh, and Vidmar found a good hole for walleyes. Zane and I didn’t have as much luck, but we did manage to catch a couple of nice walleyes and I pulled in a really nice smallie.

We puddle-jumped our way from Kawnipi south towards Agnes Lake. Agnes can be treacherous on a windy day, and a bear to paddle if you are going against the wind. By some stroke of luck, believe it or not, the wind was actually at our backs today. It seems like the wind is always in your face when you are paddling, but I can say that on this day we had a tailwind. Needless to say, we were very excited we would not have to fight the wind all the down Agnes.

As we came to the north end of Agnes, we noticed that the wind was in our favor. Jokingly, Zane suggested we make a sail and drift south down the lake. We laughed for a minute, and then started seriously considering it. Josh was the first to decide to go for it. He started latching some branches together and attaching his tent footprint as the sail. Zane and I, not to be outdone, did the same with a couple of modifications. It got a little competitive and of course, we decided to race our way down the lake.

At this point the wind must have been blowing steadily from 10-15 mph. Wade, Josh, and Vid jumped out to an early lead. Zane and I had to stop a couple of times to make a few minor modifications, which put us a little behind. After a couple of trial and errors, we finally had it. The wind carried us down the lake. We cruised past the other boat. Zane was in front holding the sail and I was ruddering from the stern. Zane’s paddle never touched the water. Those of you who have paddled Agnes know what a feat that is.

It took us what seemed like about an hour and a half or so to get from the north end of Agnes all the way to the portage for East Lake. It was such an amazing experience. When the wind gusted, it felt like it was going to carry us off the water. I do not necessarily recommend this mode of travel, as there were a few times we nearly went in the drink, but it surely was an experience to remember, so much so that I named my pup, who I bought shortly after the trip, Agnes.

We made our way to East Lake, and wanted to set up camp, but it was taken. The only reason I mention this is that these were the first people we had seen since the Ranger back on Beaverhouse, pretty incredible. We continued to Jeff Lake where we decided to set up shop for the night. It was another amazing day on the water.

May 26, 2011

Another beautiful early morning. We cleaned up camp and hit the water. We fished a little in the morning, with little luck, except for one pretty good smallmouth. We made our way from Jeff into a small puddle, then through the mud, into a creek that led us into West Lake. We paddled the long skinny lake until we hit the portage for South Lake. From South, we headed into North Bay. It was a little bit windy, but we made it across the bay no problem. From North Bay we continue south toward Burke Lake.

We wanted to get the site on the biggest island, as it is just astounding. Zane and I were ahead so we booked it for the island. Unfortunately it was taken, but we were able to find a nice spot back to the north. We reached our campsite around mid-afternoon, set up camp and fished during the evening. No luck, but was still fun. Around supper time, we headed back to camp for dinner, a campfire, and to discuss our trip. This was our last night in the wilderness. The time always seems to go so fast while I am in the wilderness.

We stayed up late by the fire, but eventually retired for one last night in the Quetico wilderness.

May 27, 2011

During the middle of the night, I hear “HEY!” and then shortly after “HEY!” It was Vidmar. I responded, asking if everything was okay. He yells back that he heard a large animal nearby. I grabbed my headlamp and jumped out of the tent. Meanwhile, Josh, Wade, and Zane slept soundly. By this time, Vidmar was out of his tent. He thought he heard a bear or a deer or a moose, but wasn’t sure. We walked around for a while and made some noise. That was the last we heard of whatever it was. Back to bed.

We took our time getting out of camp, since it was our last day in the wilderness. Eventually, we made our way south into Bayley Bay, through Prairie Portage, and down the Moose Chain, back to my truck that was waiting for us.

Another fantastic trip was in the books. In all, we caught hundreds of fish, saw some of the most beautiful, pristine natural areas left, and had just an extraordinary time. Exhausted, on the car ride home, we already started talking about the 2012 trip. It sounds like we will be going in on the north side of Quetico through Baptism Creek and coming down and out Moose Lake via the Man Chain. Can’t wait!

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: Destination Boundary Waters

2011-11-21T15:34:00.000-06:00

We are getting a lot of interest lately from Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups across the country. It stands to reason, the Boundary Waters has long been a great destination for High Adventure trips and once in a lifetime opportunities for Scouts. Here at Piragis we are proud to support Scout groups in their efforts to expand their wilderness horizons.

We believe that a first experience in canoe country should be complimented with first-class, ultra-lightweight kevlar canoes and the lightest, best back country camping gear available. Scouts deserve the best and we're here to make sure they get the best and at discounted outfitting rates. Our goal is to make the trip memorable and fun and plant the seeds for many return trips to Ely and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

If you are a scout or you know of a troop in your area we'd be happy to send them outfitting information. You can always contact Drew or Adam at 1 800 223 6565 to plan your trips. We just booked a group of 27 (3 separate groups of 9) last Friday. The season is underway already even though the lakes are freezing over. :)

What follows are a couple of letters from Steve Piragis and a couple of short testimonials from Scout Trip Clients:

Always a Scout

I often get asked what got me interested in the outdoors. I always answer: My Dad and Boy Scouts. I grew up in the hills of central Massachusetts, a part of the East where progress was slow to take over the land. My dad took me trout fishing the streams in the deep woods when no trespassing signs were rarely seen. Good old Troop 18 met in the basement of the Catholic Church but the big fun was on camp outs and at summer camp on the lake. Scouting was about all the good things in the Scout Oath but the fun was out in nature. Hikes, campouts and paddling around Sandy Lake or up on the wild part of the Connecticut River.

Scouts in the 1960’s didn’t have the best of equipment. In fact it was really pretty primitive; canvas tents, no sleeping pads, heavy aluminum canoes and splintered wooden paddles. I’m still amazed that any of us made it to middle age without major back issues and crooked spines. The Scouts of today have all the gear available to make even better memories. They should be safer in their outdoor adventures and a whole lot more comfortable. We forgot long ago the misery of sleeping on cold ground and the weight of the portage packs but there is no need to make any trek or paddling trip a endurance test for young bodies.

I’m proud today to be able to outfit the Scout groups that come through Piragis Northwoods Company for their Boundary Waters/Quetico canoe trips with the lightest gear and canoes available. Boy and Girl Scouts of the 21st Century of course don’t know how really good they have it but we can smile and know they will grow up to know and love the outdoors perhaps even more than we did.

Eagle Scout: Steve Piragis

Steve Piragis
Piragis Northwoods Company
105 N. Central Ave
Ely, Mn 55731

1 800 223-6565
1 218 365-6745

"Our trip to the Boundary Waters was the highlight of the year for many of our scouts and we are already discussing a return trip. The 2009 trip was my fifth trip to Ely and the fifth time using Piragis Northwoods. This is not a coincidence, but a tribute to you and your staff for the excellent service and gear you provide time and time again. It is with much gratitude that I tip my hat to everyone at Piragis."

Dave Herbster, Sabetha, KS

"I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our High Adventure in the Boundary Waters, and how smooth and easy you guys made it for us. The packs, canoes, paddles and vests were all top-notch and the price was right on. Your facility is great, especially the showers! Rest assured I will ABSOLUTELY recommend you in the future, and when (not if) we return to the BWCA you will be our first and, most likely, only call."

Tony Anaya – Cincinnati, OH

Dear Scout Leader:

I'd like to introduce myself and my company with the hope that what follows will be of mutual benefit and enjoyment to both the Boy Scout council and the scouts as they continue to explore the outdoors. I'm writing to you from beautiful Ely, Minnesota on the edge of over 2000 wilderness lakes that are only accessible by canoe.

My name is Steve Piragis, owner and co-founder of Piragis Northwoods Company and the Boundary Waters Catalog. My wife, Nancy and I began our business in Ely, Minnesota in 1979. Our commitment to preserving wilderness for canoeists and campers alike has remained steadfast. Our backyard is home to the world's greatest canoeing area. New adventures are launched from Ely everyday.

Our knowledge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and our northern neighbor, Ontario's Quetico Park is based on our extensive travel experience and dedication to the sport of canoeing. Simply put, our canoe outfitting staff knows the routes because we paddle them. We know the gear because we use it. Before it ever makes it into our rental fleet onto the retail store floor or pages of the catalog, it experiences real use in the great outdoors.

As canoe trip outfitters we specialize in lightweight canoes and gear that are durable enough for wilderness conditions but light enough to take the strain off of backs both young and old. Forty-four pound kevlar canoes and 15.5 oz kevlar paddles are standard equipment here and they really make a difference. We offer full-outfitting packages including all the gear and food needed for a canoe trip and we also have partial canoe trip outfitting that allows paddlers to rent a single canoe or piece of gear by the day.

You can find us online at www.piragis.com and reach us by phone at 1-800-223-6565. Ely, Minnesota is the destination for canoe campers. With our extensive experience and clients who return year after year to rent from us, we know that should your leaders and scouts desire to travel to the Boundary Waters, we can plan the trip of a lifetime for them to enjoy.

Thank you for your time,

Steve Piragis, President
Piragis Northwoods Company
105 North Central Avenue
Ely, MN 55731
1-800-223-6565

Pagami Creek Fire. First Pictures of Lake Two and Lake Three Area

2011-10-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

As of 10/22/2011 the fire was 93% contained. That day was the last official update from the Forest Service on the Fire.

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The fire remains 92,682 acres and 93% containment. All divisions on the Pagami Creek Fire are in aerial patrol status and the fire itself is unstaffed. A few remaining back haul items need to be retrieved from the fire line and rehab of some areas on the fire line continues. Crews and other resources continue to be released. Providing for firefighter and public safety is a primary concern. Mild afternoon weather is expected today. Winds are expected to be about 3-5 mph out of the North/Northwest, then switching to the South later in the day, with afternoon temperatures about 48-53 degrees.

This will be the last daily update provided for the Pagami Creek Fire unless fire circumstances change in the future. Please contact your local Superior National Forest office for information regarding the Pagami Creek Fire after today.

This past Monday, Steve Johnson and some other representatives from Outfitters were invited to accompany the Forest Service as they went into the Lake One Area. Out of this trip we've gotten our first look at the fire touched closure areas that came first hand. Overall, Steve Johnson said that he came away more encouraged than discouraged and saw many signs of greening up, wildlife and a forest carrying on with life. In some places, as you'll see, that means little or no obvious change to a canoe camper's immediate surroundings. In other places the campsites were drastically wounded. Some campsites will appear normal but have different views across the lake than campers are accustomed to. As the natural course of action after a fire, some areas will appear much more open to the naked eye until the new growth begins to fill those areas. We are encouraged by what he discovered and are anxious to paddle all the routes within the closure zone as soon as we can.

Discover and enjoy:

Lake Two Looking back at the portage to Lake One

Lake Two


Looking across to the other side of Lake Two

Lake Two - Eagles used to hang out here

Another view of the Eagle's hangout.

A Campsite on the South side of Lake Three

Looking out at Lake Three from Campsite near South End

Another campsite on the South End of Lake Three that didn't fare so well.

Same burnt Lake Three Campsite

Another view of an area that the fire hit harder than some.

Click on pictures for larger view on any of these pictures.

Boundary Waters Fire 89% Contained

2011-10-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Friday, October 14, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

see great pictures here

TODAY'S MESSAGE: Containment for the Pagami Creek fire has grown to 89%. The fire remains 92,682 acres in size. Rain fell across the entire fire area yesterday and some parts received over 1” of precipitation. Fire crews continued to work on line construction in the Ferne Lake and Bog Lake areas. Patrol and mop-up continued on the remainder of the fire. Some crews and resources are being released as containment of the fire progresses.
Cool, wet weather will return today. Strong NW winds are expected throughout the day. For the first time wind chill is entering the forecast and will make the temperatures feel 8 – 10 degrees cooler. Providing for firefighter safety is a primary concern and plans are in place to bring crews in if necessary. Crews will continue to construct fireline on the East side of the fire near Ferne Lake and on the southwest side of the fire near Bog Lake. Crews on the remainder of the fire will be focused on final patrol, mop-up and backhaul operations.
The Superior National Forest and the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources have lifted fire restrictions statewide.

ACTIVITIES TODAY
The West, North and Northeast portions of the fire crews will patrol and back haul un-needed equipment.
On the East portion of the fire crews will continue to build fire line near Ferne Lake
On the Southern portions of the fire near Isabella patrol, mop-up and back haul un-needed equipment.
On the Southwestern portions, line construction and reinforcement of existing lines will continue in the Bog Lake area.
WEATHER: Cool temperatures are expected today with a high of 44 - 49 degrees. Relative humidity is expected to be between 59 - 65%. Winds will be NW at 10 – 15 mph increasing to 14 – 18 mph. Gusts up to 35 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Fire restrictions have been lifted statewide. For details regarding fire use on the Superior National Forest see: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home. For details regarding fire use and conditions in other areas of Minnesota, see: www.mnics.org

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 370 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 3 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 6 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 3 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 2 Type 1 helicopters, 4 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

Fire Ban Off. No fire Restrictions in the Boundary Waters

2011-10-14T10:26:00.002-05:00

Closures of roads and lakes around the Pagami Creek Fire remain in effect.

Thanks for your help with informing visitors. We will remove fire restriction posters from the bulletin boards tomorrow.

Becca
Kawishiwi District

TERMINATION OF AN ORDER
FIRE RESTRICTIONS
SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST

Under authority of the Act of Congress of June 4, 1897, 16 USC 551, and pursuant to the Secretary of Agriculture’s Regulations set forth at 36 CFR 261.52 (a) and 261.52 (f), the prohibition listed in Order No. R909-11-22, applicable to the Superior National Forest, dated October 6, 2011, and signed by James W. Sanders, Forest Supervisor, is hereby terminated.

Dated this 13th day of October, 2011, Duluth, Minnesota.

___/s/James W. Sanders___
                                                          JAMES W. SANDERS
                                                          Forest Supervisor
                                                          Superior National Forest

Boundary Waters Fire Update 10/13/2011

2011-10-13T11:49:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com

Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is 87% contained and remains 92,682 acres. Moderate temperatures and precipitation aided firefighting efforts yesterday. Crews completed fireline south of Fishdance. Line construction continued along the East side of the fire near Ferne Lake and on the southwest side of the fire near Bog Lake.
Precipitation is likely again today and cooler, wetter conditions will continue to aid firefighting efforts. Mop-up will begin in the Fishdance Lake area. Crews will continue constructing line in the Ferne Lake and Bog Lake areas. Crews will continue with mop-up and patrol and will begin to back haul over 75 miles of hose from areas of the fire that are contained.
Fire restrictions throughout the state remain in effect. No campfires are allowed except in designated, developed campgrounds. Campfires are restricted in the entire BWCAW. Please see below for additional information.

ACTIVITIES TODAY
On the West, Northwest, Northeast portions of the fire crews will mop-up, patrol and back haul un-needed equipment.
On the East portion of the fire crews will continue to build fire line near Ferne Lake
On the Southern portions of the fire near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement continues.
On the Southwestern portions, line construction and reinforcement of existing lines will continue in the Bog Lake area.
WEATHER: Higher temperatures will continue today with a high of 54-58 degrees. Relative humidity is expected to be between 68-74%. Winds will be W/SW in the morning becoming NW at 7 - 12 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Campfires and other open fires are restricted across Minnesota. For details regarding fire restrictions on the Superior National Forest see: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home. For details regarding fire restrictions and conditions in other areas of Minnesota, see: www.mnics.org

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 470 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 8 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 7 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 3 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 2 Type 1 helicopters, 4 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

Boundary Waters Fire Update 10/12/11

2011-10-12T09:44:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

More Pictures Here

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is 85% contained and remains 92,682 acres. Warmer day time temperatures and lower humidity led to moderate surface fire with occasional single tree torching yesterday. Crews are nearing completion of the line along the northeastern boundary of the fire near Fishdance Lake. Crews also continued with line construction on the eastern side of the fire near Ferne Lake and the southern portion of the fire near Bog Lake. Aviation resources supported fire crews with suppression activities and transport of supplies and back haul.
Precipitation is likely today and cooler, wetter conditions will aid firefighting efforts. Line construction will continue today in the Fishdance Lake, Ferne Lake and Bog Lake areas. Crews will continue with mop-up and patrol and will begin to back haul over 75 miles of hose from areas of the fire that are contained.
Fire restrictions throughout the state remain in effect. No campfires are allowed except in designated, developed campgrounds. Campfires are restricted in the entire BWCAW. Please see below for additional information.

ACTIVITIES TODAY
On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will transition to patrol and back haul un-needed equipment.
On the Northeast portions of the fire, hose-lays and line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.
On the East portion of the fire crews will continue to build fire line near Ferne Lake
On the Southern portions of the fire near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement continues.
On the Southwestern portions, line construction and reinforcement of existing lines will continue in the Bog Lake area.

WEATHER: Higher temperatures will continue today with a high of 65 - 69 degrees. Relative humidity is expected to be between 66 - 72%. Winds will be South/southeast at 6 - 11 mph becoming southeast at 8 – 12 mph with gusts to 19 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Campfires and other open fires are restricted across Minnesota. For details regarding fire restrictions on the Superior National Forest see: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home. For details regarding fire restrictions and conditions in other areas of Minnesota, see: www.mnics.org

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 452 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 8 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 6 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 3 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 3 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

Boundary Waters Fire Update 10/11/11

2011-10-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com

Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

Click Here for more picures

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is 82% contained and remains 92,682 acres. Warmer temperatures and lower relative humidity returned yesterday. Fire behavior did not increase significantly due to recent rains. Crews continued with line construction along the northeastern boundary of the fire near Fishdance Lake, the eastern side of the fire near Ferne Lake and the southern portion of the fire near Bog Lake. Aviation resources supported fire crews with suppression activities and transport of supplies and back haul.

Line construction will continue today in the Fishdance Lake, Ferne Lake and Bog Lake areas. Crews will continue with mop-up and patrol and will begin to back haul over 75 miles of hose from areas of the fire that are contained.

Fire restrictions throughout the state remain in effect. No campfires are allowed except in designated, developed campgrounds. Campfires are restricted in the entire BWCAW. Please see below for additional information.

ACTIVITIES TODAY
On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul un-needed equipment.

On the Northeast portions of the fire, hose-lays and line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.

On the East portion of the fire crews will continue to build fire line near Ferne Lake

On the Southern portions of the fire near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement continues.

On the Southwestern portions, line construction and reinforcement of existing lines will continue in the Bog Lake area.

WEATHER: Higher temperatures will continue today with a high of 68 - 73 degrees. Relative humidity is expected to be between 42 – 49%. Winds will be South/southwest at 5 – 10 mph becoming southwest at 8 – 12 mph with gusts to 22 mph from late morning on.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Campfires and other open fires are restricted across Minnesota. For details regarding fire restrictions on the Superior National Forest see: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home. For details regarding fire restrictions and conditions in other areas of Minnesota, see: www.mnics.org

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 483 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 9 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 7 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 3 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 3 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

--
Pagami Creek Fire
Public Information
218-365-3177

A review from a Happy Customer! Thanx Michelle!

2011-10-10T09:54:00.001-05:00

"Piragis is an awesome company with personable and knowledgable staff! We just rented this Minnesota 4 for an eight day fall colors trip. Also rented a food barrel this time to try it out. A friend owns the portage packs but they were once Piragis rentals too. Utilized the shuttle services this year to drop our vehicle at the Little Indian Sioux then start us at the Angleworm entry point so we didn't have to make a complete loop. Thanks to Drew and all the shop crew for your fabulous service!"

Michelle R. Schwab

Boundary Waters Fire Update October 10, 2011

2011-10-10T09:51:00.002-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire

Monday, October 10, 2011

Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com

Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is 80% contained and remains 92,682 acres. Continued cool and damp weather aided firefighting efforts Sunday. Crews focused efforts on line construction along the northeastern boundary of the fire near Fishdance Lake, the eastern side of the fire near Ferne Lake and the southern portion of the fire near Bog Lake. Aviation resources supported fire crews with suppression activities and transport of supplies and back haul.

Warmer weather is expected to return today. Crews will continue with mop-up and patrol in areas of the fire that are contained. Line construction will continue in the Fishdance Lake, Ferne Lake and Bog Lake areas.

Fire restrictions throughout the state remain in effect. No campfires are allowed except in designated, developed campgrounds. Campfires are restricted in the entire BWCAW.

ACTIVITIES TODAY
On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul un-needed equipment.
On the Northeast portions of the fire, hose-lays and line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.
On the East portion of the fire crews will continue to build fire line near Ferne Lake.
On the Southern portions of the fire near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement continues.
On the Southwestern portions, line construction and reinforcement of existing lines will continue in the Bog Lake area.

WEATHER: Higher temperatures will return today with a high of 69 - 75 degrees. Relative humidity is expected to be between 36 – 42%. Winds will be South to Southeast at 8 – 13 mph with gusts to 24 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The state of Minnesota has restricted campfires on both state and federal lands. Campfires are allowed only in designated, developed campgrounds (fee areas). For more information please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 476 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 9 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 7 Type 2 crews, 3 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 3 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 3 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

Fire Ban On. Fire Danger Levels High.

2011-10-07T09:13:00.004-05:00

Effective 12:01 am, Friday, October 7, 2011, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal fire or wood-burning stove is prohibited anywhere on national forest lands within the boundaries of the Superior National Forest . The only exception is within constructed steel fire grates provided by the Forest Service at fee-for-use campgrounds. Gas or propane camp stoves may be used anywhere on the Forest.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQoY6IeDdGCqCPOBqwDLG-AAjgb6fh75uan6BdnZaY6OiooA1tkqlQ!!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfMjAwMDAwMDBBODBPSEhWTjBNMDAwMDAwMDA!/?ss=110909&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003853&navid=091000000000000&pnavid=null&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ttype=main&pname=Superior%2520National%2520Forest-%2520Home/

Pagami Creek Fire
Friday, October 7, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com

Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire remains at 92,682 acres and is 71% contained. A fire weather watch and Red Flag warning are posted for the fire area. Fire activity increased in several areas of the fire with active surface fire and group tree torching. Little acreage was added to the fire but spot fires occurred in the north side near Fishdance Lake and on the east side east of Ferne and Isabella Lakes. Windy conditions throughout the night on Friday may cause fire activity to extend into the evening hours.

At midnight Thursday night statewide fire restrictions went into effect. No campfires are allowed except in designated, developed campgrounds. Campfires are restricted in the entire BWCAW .

ACTIVITIES TODAY

·   On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul unneeded equipment. Some water drops were used in that area of the fire to cool previously unburned islands within the fire area.
·   On the Northeast and East portions of the fire, hose-lays and line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line. This is still an area of high concern.

·   On the Southern portions near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement continues.

·   On the Southwestern portions, line construction will continue between the Isabella River and Bog Lakes.

·   As the warmer weather and increased winds continue, all crews will be checking hot spots that are being detected outside the existing line. Suppression forces will take a proactive approach in using aircraft to cool hot spots.

·   On the southeast portion of the fire crews will be adding a secondary line in an area where several hot spots have been found outside of the existing line. (Ferne Lake)
·   Firefighters are prepared to disengage if the weather provides unsafe conditions to work.

WEATHER: Dry and warm weather will continue on Friday with temperatures in the 70s and winds gusting to 36 from the south by 1:00 pm . Winds will continue into the nighttime hours and pick up again early Saturday morning. .

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The state of Minnesota has restricted campfire on both state and federal lands. Campfires are allowed only in designated,developed campgrounds (fee area)., For more information please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 465 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 8 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 4 Type 2 crews, 3 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 4 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 3 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

#30#

--
Pagami Creek Fire
Public Information
218-365-3177

Only 21 Rental Canoes Left! Save hundreds of dollars!

2011-10-06T13:55:00.001-05:00

Only 21 2011 Rental Canoes left. Call Steve Schon to get yours today! 1-800-223-6565. See our list here http://www.piragis.com/usedcanoeandkayak.html These canoes have experienced only one season in the Boundary Waters. They'll save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars and give you many loving years in the Boundary Waters, Quetico and beyond of faithful, ultra-light service.

When you're buying a used canoe there are a few things to think about. I'll call them a short checklist and you should literally write each down and draw a box next to it. When you see a canoe you may be interested in, go to your checklist and faithfully check off each box (if you can). When you're finished, if all your boxes have been checked... this is likely the canoe for you.

Why? Well, we all love a deal, but... and there's always a BUT! If a person is selling off a canoe, they're either unhappy with it (usually they've already got the canoe they really want in mind) or they've had a change of circumstances and need money. If they love paddling at all (even if they need money) they'll be unlikely to give up a favorite canoe. So, it can't all be about the deal, all about the low price. If you wouldn't buy the canoe if it wasn't such a good price, you probably shouldn't take the deal.

So, PRICE shouldn't be at the top of your list. It should be on the list, but not at the top. What makes up the list? Condition, weight, age, history, price, manufacturer, materials and will this canoe do what you want? These are all good questions.

Condition: Does the boat have stress fractures or repaired patches or visible damage? If so, were the repairs done professionally? Do the repairs impair the performance of the boat in any way?
Weight: Just because it is cheap doesn't make it any lighter. Kevlar canoes don't get heavier as you age.
Age: How old is the canoe, how was it stored? Was it protected from U.V. rays or left out in the sun for year after year?
History: How was the canoe used and on what type of water. Did it ever run rapids? Does it have experience in the Boundary Waters?
Price: Are you getting a substantial amount off the normal retail price? Is this a canoe you would be happy to pay full retail for if you could?
Manufacturer: Who made this canoe? Do they have a good name in the business? Do they stand behind their products? Can you get replacement parts if necessary? Do you have a good source or relationship with a retailer/distributor of this type canoe?
Materials: Is the canoe aluminum, plastic, wood canvas, fiberglass, royalex, carbon or kevlar?
Will this Canoe Do what you want?: Where are you going to use it the most on rivers, on lakes, on trips or mostly for fishing? Does the design of the canoe match your needs?

At Piragis we sell our complete rental fleet (over 120 canoes) at the end of each season. We maintain them throughout the year and professionally do any repairs necessary. At the end of the season, we go over each canoe with a fine tooth comb and recondition each one. These have all experienced the wilderness travel of the Boundary Waters and Quetico. They have many, many more years of life in them. They are lightweight kevlar (we rent a few royalex canoes, too) and only used one season. We've got many different models of canoe so that we can match them to your paddling needs.

When we take trade-ins we hold them to our high standards as well and if they need to be re-conditioned or repaired, we do that here ourselves. We find out from the previous owners the "canoe-facts" so we can share them with you.

Here at Piragis Northwoods Company we've sold more used canoes and kayaks than anyone in the business since 1979. We are top shelf dealers for Wenonah Canoe, Bell Canoe Works, Perception Kayaks, Current Design Kayaks and Wilderness System Kayaks as well as PacCanoes and Folding Kayaks. Our sales staff and outfitting staff have the same high attention to detail and commitment to used craft as we do to brand new handmade canoes and kayaks!

Call Steve Schon at 1-800-223-6565 Today to talk used or new canoes and kayaks and we will get you the boat that best fits your needs!

Boundary Waters Fire Update October 6

2011-10-06T10:23:00.001-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com

Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE:

The Pagami Creek Fire remains at 92,682 acres and is 71% contained. Near red flag conditions (low humidities,high temps and high winds) are forecasted for western St. Louis County this does not include the Pagami Creek fire area although it will experience near red flag conditions. The red flag extends into Friday. Fire activity has the potential to increase as a result of this forecast and there is a potential for unburned islands of fuel within the fire perimeter to ignite.

There may be increased smoke in the area as fire activity increases (especially on the east and north sides). The Superior National Forest expanded closures on Tuesday for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. The Governor ordered a National Guard helicopter with two paramedics to be stationed in Ely. They will arrive by noon.today. This helicopter will be staged in case serious injuries may require medevac from the wilderness.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul unneeded equipment.
·         On the Northeast and East portions of the fire, hose-lays and line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.
·         On the Southern portions near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement and rehab continues.
·         On the Southwestern portions, line construction will continue between the Isabella River and Bog Lakes.
·         As the warmer weather and increased winds continue, all crews will be checking hot spots that are being detected outside the existing line. Suppression forces will take a proactive approach in using aircraft to cool hot spots.
·         On the southeast portion of the fire crews will be adding a secondary line in an area where several hot spots have been found outside of the existing line. (Ferne Lake area)

WEATHER: Dry and warm weather with increasing winds is forecast over the fire through the week. High temperature today is expected to be 79oF with winds out of the southeast at 6 to 14 mph with gusts to 26 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The Superior National Forest has lifted all campfire restrictions. For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 436 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 8 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 3 Type 2 crews, 3 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 2 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 2 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/

Seitaniemi House Barn Restoration project in Embarrass, MN

2011-10-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

Check out this great video talk about the Seitaniemi House Barn Restoration project in Embarrass, MN. Paul Knuti came to Ely and spoke to our Tuesday Group this week. Discover the history and beauty of recovering our past!

Boundary Waters Fire Update, Warm Weather increases fire activity

2011-10-05T10:15:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire remains at 92,682 acres and is 71% contained. Near record high temperatures and dry, windy conditions are forecasted for the Pagami Creek Fire area through the end of the week. Fire activity has the potential to increase as a result of this forecast. There may be increased smoke in the area as fire activity increases (especially on the east side). The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Hot spots outside the fire perimeter continue to be located and contained. Crews are being moved in anticipation of stronger southerly winds expected on Thursday and Friday. Additional air resources (two CL215 water scooping aircraft and one Type 1 helicopter) are assigned to the fire and will become available through the day as they arrive.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul unneeded equipment. Some crews will be moved east to assist with line construction.
·         On the Northeast and East portions of the fire, line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.
·         On the Southern portions near Isabella patrol, mop-up and line improvement continues.
·         On the Southwestern portions, line construction will continue between Superstition and Bog Lakes.
·         All crews will be checking outside the line for hot spots that are being detected as the warmer weather and increased winds continue.
·         Air resources will continue to provide support to firefighters on the ground.

WEATHER: Dry and warm weather with increasing winds is forecast over the fire through the week. High temperature today is expected to be 76oF with winds out of the southeast at 5 to 11 mph with gusts to 21 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety. Travel along Lake County 7 and FR 369, FR 373 and FR 377 is open. The area between these roads and the fire is closed. To see the updated list of closures and closure map, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The Superior National Forest has lifted all campfire restrictions. For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 463 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 9 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 2 Type 2 crews, 3 engines, 0 dozers, 1 water tenders, 2 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 2 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 3 helicopters, 2 CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/

Boundary Waters Closure Update October 4, 2011

2011-10-04T15:54:00.001-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

For Immediate Release

Pagami Creek Fire Information Contact: 218-365-3177

Weather and Increased Fire Activity Prompts Additional Closures for Pagami Creek Fire

Ely, MN…Near record high temperatures and dry, windy conditions are forecasted for the Pagami Creek Fire area through the end of the week. Fire activity has the potential to increase as a result of this forecast. The Superior National Forest has expanded closures for areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire as a precautionary measure to provide for public safety.

The following area/road closures are effective as of 12:00 PM (Noon) Tuesday, October 04, 2011:

·         Travel Zones 332, 361 and 351 from Sawbill Lake to the Lady Chain (Sawbill Lake is open)
·         Kekekabic Trail east of Snowbank Lake
·         FR381 north from the intersection of FR377 (Tomahawk Road) to the Little Isabella River entry point and the area east of FR381 to FR377 (FR377 remains open)
·         FR 381E (Snake River entry point) to the BWCAW boundary from the intersection of FR381 and the area east of FR381E to FR381.
·         FR377 (Tomahawk Road) east from the intersection of FR377/FR373.
·         All areas and roads north of FR369 and between FR373 and CR7 to the BWCAW wilderness. (FR373, FR369 and CR7 remain open for through travel).
·         FR921 (Silver Island Lake Access) north from FR369. Silver Island Lake is closed.
·         FR354 north from the intersection of CR7/FR354 to the BWCAW boundary (Kawishiwi Lake entry point). Kawishiwi Lake is closed.

The above closures are in addition to existing closures. The road closures still in effect form a continual route from west to east. The closure includes the following roads and areas: FR 377D from the intersection of FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd) to the BWCAW boundary (Bog Lake Access); FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd) from the intersection of FR 377D east to FR 379; FR 379 south to the intersection of FR 369; the area north of FR 369 between the intersection of FR 379 and FR 356 (FR 369 is OPEN); FR 356 northeast from the intersection of FR 369 to FR 1244 (Coffee Lake Access); FR 1244 south to the intersection of Lake County Road 7 (CR 7); All areas west of CR 7 from the intersection of FR 1244 to FR 354 (CR 7 is OPEN); FR 354 north to the BWCAW boundary (Kawishiwi Lake Access).

To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

Boundary Waters Fire Update Tuesday October 4, 2011

2011-10-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire remains at 92,682 acres and is 71% contained. There may be increased smoke in the area as fire activity increases (especially on the east side) with higher temperatures and wind increase over the fire area. Hot spots outside the fire perimeter continue to be located and contained. Crews are being moved in anticipation of stronger southerly winds expected on Thursday. Additional air resources (two CL215 water scooping aircraft and one type 1 helicopter) are being assigned to the fire and will become available through the day as they arrive.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul unneeded equipment.
·         On the Northeast and East portions of the fire, line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.
·         On the Southern portions near Isabella, mop-up and rehabilitation of dozer line continues.
·         On the Southwestern portions, line construction will continue between Superstition and Bog Lakes.
·         All crews will be checking outside the line for hot spots that are expected to show up with the warmer weather and increased wind.
·         Air resources will continue to provide support to firefighters on the ground.

WEATHER: Dry and warm weather with increasing winds is forecast over the fire through the week. High temperature today is expected to be 79oF with winds out of the southeast at 6 to 11 mph with gusts to 15 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has reduced the closure area around the Pagami Creek Fire. Some areas that have been reopened include Snowbank Lake, North Kawishiwi River, and Bald Eagle Lake. A small portion of the BWCAW and national forest lands remain closed. To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

The road closures still in effect form a continual route from west to east. The closure includes the following roads and areas: FR 377D from the intersection of FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd) to the BWCAW boundary (Bog Lake Access); FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd) from the intersection of FR 377D east to FR 379; FR 379 south to the intersection of FR 369; the area north of FR 369 between the intersection of FR 379 and FR 356 (FR 369 is OPEN); FR 356 northeast from the intersection of FR 369 to FR 1244 (Coffee Lake Access); FR 1244 south to the intersection of Lake County Road 7 (CR 7); All areas west of CR 7 from the intersection of FR 1244 to FR 354 (CR 7 is OPEN); FR 354 north to the BWCAW boundary (Kawishiwi Lake Access).

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The Superior National Forest has lifted all campfire restrictions. For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 530 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 12 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 2 Type 2 crews, 5 engines, 0 dozers, 2 water tenders, 2 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: 3 Type 1 helicopters, 1 Type 3 helicopters, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/

Boundary Waters Fire Update Monday October 3, 2011

2011-10-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire
Monday, October 3, 2011
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com

Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire remains at 92,682 acres and is 71% contained. Greg Peterson's Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) Type II Team took command of the fire at 6:00 this morning. There may be increased smoke in the area as fire activity increases somewhat with higher temperatures and wind increase over the fire area.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:

·   On the West and Northwest portions of the fire crews will patrol, mop-up existing lines and back haul unneeded equipment.

·   On the Northeast and East portions of the fire, line construction will continue as well as patrol and mop-up of previously constructed line.

·   On the Southern portions near Isabella, mop-up and rehabilitation of dozer line continues.

·   On the Southwestern portions, line construction will continue.

·   Crews around the fire will be checking outside the line for hot spots that are expected to show up with the warmer weather.

·   Several camps are being moved to locate crews closer to their assigned activity areas.

·   Air resources will continue to provide support to firefighters on the ground.

WEATHER: Dry and warm weather with increasing winds is forecast over the fire through the week. Temperatures today should be in the mid 70s with winds out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph with gusts to 15 mph.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: The Superior National Forest has reduced the closure area around the Pagami Creek Fire. Some areas that have been reopened include Snowbank Lake, North Kawishiwi River, and Bald Eagle Lake. A small portion of the BWCAW and national forest lands remain closed. To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

The road closures still in effect form a continual route from west to east. The closure includes the following roads and areas: FR 377D from the intersection of FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd) to the BWCAW boundary (Bog Lake Access); FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd) from the intersection of FR 377D east to FR 379; FR 379 south to the intersection of FR 369; the area north of FR 369 between the intersection of FR 379 and FR 356 (FR 369 is OPEN); FR 356 northeast from the intersection of FR 369 to FR 1244 (Coffee Lake Access); FR 1244 south to the intersection of Lake County Road 7 (CR 7); All areas west of CR 7 from the intersection of FR 1244 to FR 354 (CR 7 is OPEN); FR 354 north to the BWCAW boundary (Kawishiwi Lake Access).

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The Superior National Forest has lifted all campfire restrictions. For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 530 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 10 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 2 Type 2 crews, 3 engines, 4 dozers, 1 water tenders, 3 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: two Type 1 helicopters, three Type 3 helicopters, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home

Smoke conditions: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/

--
Pagami Creek Fire
Public Information
218-365-3177

Fires now Allowed in Boundary Waters Sept. 30, 2011

2011-09-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

***Effective September 30, 2011, campfires will be allowed all times of the day in all areas of the Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. ***

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE
Friday, September 30, 2011

                                                   Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.   E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
                                                   Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
                                                   Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 67% contained, and the size has been reduced to 92,682 acres due to improved mapping. Initially the acreage of the fire was determined by using GPS technology while flying along the perimeter. Crews on the ground are now able to use GPS to gather more accurate data. Gusty winds prevented crews from working on the fire yesterday. Reports from spike camps were that live trees were being blown down around their campsites. Crews spent most of yesterday identifying and removing hazard trees around camp.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         Continue direct line construction, patrol, and mop up along the fire perimeter.
·         Fireline explosives will be used on a portion of the north perimeter that is not contained.
·         Rehabilitation of roads and dozer lines continues outside of the Wilderness Area.
·         Air resources will continue to provide support to firefighters on the ground.

WEATHER: Drier but cooler weather is expected for today. Northwesterly winds could still be gusty at times today, with gusts reaching the upper teens. This weekend is still expected to be warm and dry. The next chance for showers will be early next week as a weak disturbance passes through the area.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: Some Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry points remain closed for day and overnight use. To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

Highway 1 is open. The following roads, trails, and areas are closed: FR 381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd.) and all areas north and east of FR 381; FR 373 (Northwest Rd.) south from FR 377 to the intersection of FR 369 and all areas north and east of this route; FR 369 east from the intersection of FR 369 and FR 373 to the intersection of FR 369 and Lake County Rd. 7 (Cramer Rd./Windy Lake Rd.) including all areas north of this route; all areas to the west of Lake County Rd. 7 (CR 7) between the intersections with FR 369 and FR 354 (CR 7 is open for travel); and FR 354 north from the intersection with Lake CR 7 and all areas west of FR 354.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: The Superior National Forest has lifted all campfire restrictions. For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 663 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 10 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 5 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 4 dozers, 2 water tenders, 4 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: two Type 1 helicopters, two Type 3 helicopters, and two Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: www.pca.state.mn.us

Boundary Waters Updated Closure List

2011-09-29T11:03:00.000-05:00

FOREST SUPERVISOR EMERGENCY PUBLIC SAFETY CLOSURESSUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST
As of September 27, 2011

All areas of the Superior National Forest are open to public use except for the following lands, roads and trails:
1. It is prohibited to be upon BWCAW campsites and areas which are posted closed and included in
the closure area indicated by the Pagami Creek Fire Closure Map dated 9-26-2011.
2. This closure includes the following campsites/areas/entry points of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Entry points closed to public use:
#27 and #28 Snowbank, including “H” Snowbank Day Use Motor
NOTE: Travel IS allowed on the portion of Snowbank Lake which is OUTSIDE the
BWCAW line.
# 29 North Kawishiwi River, closure begins at the portage into North Kawishiwi River.
NOTE: Ojibway and Triangle Lakes are OUTSIDE the BWCAW and are open.
#30 Lake One
#34 Island River
#35 Isabella Lake
#36 Hog Creek
#37 Kawishiwi Lake
#67 Bog Lake
#75 Little Isabella River
#84 Snake River
Hiking Trail Entry Points
#56 Kekekabic East
#74 Kekekabic West /Snowbank
#86 Pow Wow Hiking Trail

The following entry points are open with travel restrictions:
• Entry Point 25 Moose Lake - Travel is NOT allowed south into Boot, Ashigan, Bedford, Minerva, Strup.
o Travel IS allowed in Splash, Ensign, Birch, Carp, Knife, Trident, Frog, Vera, Neglige, Trader,
Bonnie, Pickle, Spoon, Spider, Missionary, Skoota, and Kekekabic
NOTE: Check the map for particular lakes as the line is difficult to describe
• Entry Point 31 - Travel is NOT allowed on the North Kawishiwi River.
o Travel IS allowed only for South Farm Lake, both day use and overnight.
NOTE: Farm Lake is outside the BWCAW and is open.
• Entry Point 32 South Kawishiwi River and 33 Little Gabbro – NO travel into Bald Eagle and beyond.
o Travel IS allowed:
north to the 15 rod portage into the North Kawishiwi River, just to the southeast of where the
portage from Triangle Lake comes into the river
north to the portages into Eskwagama and Clear Lake (these lakes are closed).
• Entry Point 38 Sawbill - No travel allowed west through Alton Lake.
• Entry Point 71 From Canada - All permits requesting entry from Canada must be coordinated with the Supervisor’s Office in Duluth.

3. The following area and roads outside of the BWCAW are included in this closure
• FR381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Road) and all areas north and east of FR 381.
• FR373 (Northwest Road) south from the FR 377 (Tomahawk Road) to the intersection of FR369 and all
areas north and east of this route.
• FR369 east from the intersection of FR369 and FR373 to the intersection of FR369 and CR7, including
all areas north of this route.
• All areas to the west of CR7 between the intersections with FR369 and FR354 (CR7 open for travel).
• FR354 north from the intersection with CR7, and all areas west of FR354.

Boundary Waters Fire Update September 29, 2011 IT IS RAINING!

2011-09-29T10:35:00.000-05:00

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE
Thursday, September 29, 2011

                                                   Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.   E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
                                                   Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
                                                   Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 64% contained, and the size remains at 93,459 acres. Firefighter and public safety is always top priority. Two challenges firefighters will be facing today include rough water and high winds. Gusty winds can create a hazard as snags and trees with roots weakened by fire can fall without warning. Rough water will make canoeing difficult and unsafe. This morning firefighters were reminded to maintain their situational awareness and to prepare to disengage if these conditions exist.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         Continue to patrol and mop up along the fire perimeter using infrared data to locate hot spots.
·         Continue line construction along portions of the fire perimeter that are not contained.
·         Rehabilitate roads and dozer lines outside of the Wilderness Area.
·         If weather permits, air resources will continue to provide support to firefighters on the ground.

WEATHER: A cold front passed through the area overnight bringing with it cooler temperatures, strong northwesterly winds, and light rain showers. Precipitation is expected to range from 0.10 to 0.25 inch with isolated higher amounts. Northwesterly winds are expected to increase late this morning with gusts reaching 35-45 mph and greater. Dry weather and gradually warming temperatures are expected over the weekend.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: Some Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry points remain closed for day and overnight use. To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

Highway 1 is open. The following roads, trails, and areas are closed: FR 381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd.) and all areas north and east of FR 381; FR 373 (Northwest Rd.) south from FR 377 to the intersection of FR 369 and all areas north and east of this route; FR 369 east from the intersection of FR 369 and FR 373 to the intersection of FR 369 and Lake County Rd. 7 (Cramer Rd./Windy Lake Rd.) including all areas north of this route; all areas to the west of Lake County Rd. 7 (CR 7) between the intersections with FR 369 and FR 354 (CR 7 is open for travel); and FR 354 north from the intersection with Lake CR 7 and all areas west of FR 354.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 663 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 10 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 5 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 4 dozers, 2 water tenders, 4 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: two Type 1 helicopters, two Type 3 helicopters, and two Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: www.pca.state.mn.us

Boundary Waters Fire Update September 28, 2011

2011-09-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

                                                   Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.   E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
                                                   Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
                                                   Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 61% contained, and the size remains at 93,459 acres. Infrared technology is being used to assist firefighters with suppression efforts. Infrared identifies heat along the fire perimeter allowing firefighters to focus on those areas where hot spots still exist. As fuels continue to dry, an increase in fire activity is expected and smoke may become more visible. Today firefighters will focus on reinforcing containment lines in preparation for possible strong winds tonight and Thursday. Aircraft will be used throughout the day to drop water on the portions of unlined fire perimeter to lessen the chance of fire movement when winds arrive.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         Spot fire detection, line construction and mop up continue along the fire perimeter.
·         Rehabilitation continues along dozer lines outside of the Wilderness Area.
·         Air support continues to provide water drops on hot spots and cargo to crews in spike camps along the north and east perimeters of the fire.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR: Today’s weather forecast calls for continued warm and dry weather as a ridge of high pressure moves into the region. Temperatures are predicted to be in the mid to high 70s. Winds will be calm in the morning but increasing in the afternoon becoming west southwest 7-11 mph. Wind gusts reaching 14-18 mph are expected. A cold front will pass through the area late tonight bringing a chance of rain, cooler temperatures and strong northwesterly winds. Dry weather and gradually warming temperatures are expected over the weekend.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: Some Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry points remain closed for day and overnight use. To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

Highway 1 is open. The following roads, trails, and areas are closed: FR 381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd.) and all areas north and east of FR 381; FR 373 (Northwest Rd.) south from FR 377 to the intersection of FR 369 and all areas north and east of this route; FR 369 east from the intersection of FR 369 and FR 373 to the intersection of FR 369 and Lake County Rd. 7 (Cramer Rd./Windy Lake Rd.) including all areas north of this route; all areas to the west of Lake County Rd. 7 (CR 7) between the intersections with FR 369 and FR 354 (CR 7 is open for travel); and FR 354 north from the intersection with Lake CR 7 and all areas west of FR 354.

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

CAUSE: Lightning

DETECTED: August 18, 2011

RESOURCES: There are currently 708 personnel assigned to the incident. Resources include: 10 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 7 Type 2 crews, 4 engines, 2 water tenders, 4 camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources are available: two Type 1 helicopters, two Type 3 helicopters, two scoopers (or water bombers), one scooper lead plane, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: www.pca.state.mn.us

--
Pagami Creek Fire
Public Information
218-365-3177

Boundary Waters Fire Update Pagami Creek Fire September 27th, 2011

2011-09-27T11:16:00.001-05:00

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE
Tuesday, September 27, 2011

                                                   Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.   E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
                                                   Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534
                                                   Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/112717872039965407359

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 59% contained, and the size remains the same at 93,459 acres. On September 26, the Superior National Forest reduced the closure area surrounding the fire. Some areas to the north and west of the fire have been opened. Drier weather today should produce slightly more active fire and more smoke. Fire line rehabilitation measures are being taken to return the landscape to natural conditions by spreading woody vegetation back over dozed fire lines in areas where the fire is cold. This action will help to reduce soil erosion. New crews have been dispatched to spike camps to replace departing crews.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         An excavator is being used for rehabilitation work outside the Wilderness Area.
·         Spot fire detection, line construction and mop up continue along the fire perimeter.
·         Air support continues to provide water drops on hot spots.

UPCOMING EVENTS: A community meeting will be held today at the Isabella Community Center at 11 a.m.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR: Sunny, warmer and drier today with light winds. Temperatures reaching the lower 70’s with humidity ranging between 35 and 40%. This afternoon, winds will switch from NE to N at 5 to 8 mph. Wednesday, as a front approaches, expect to see warmer temperatures, lower humidity and higher wind speeds. A chance of showers Wednesday night into Thursday will amount to less than a 1/10 of an inch of rain.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: Some Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry points remain closed for day and overnight use. To see the updated closure, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home.

Highway 1 is open. The following roads, trails, and areas are closed: FR 381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd.) and all areas north and east of FR 381; FR 373 (Northwest Rd.) south from FR 377 to the intersection of FR 369 and all areas north and east of this route; FR 369 east from the intersection of FR 369 and FR 373 to the intersection of FR 369 and Lake County Rd. 7 (Cramer Rd./Windy Lake Rd.) including all areas north of this route; all areas to the west of Lake County Rd. 7 (CR 7) between the intersections with FR 369 and FR 354 (CR 7 is open for travel); and FR 354 north from the intersection with Lake CR 7 and all areas west of FR 354.

DETECTED: August 18, 2011                                   CAUSE: Lightning                              ACREAGE: 93,459

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 13 miles east of Ely.

RESOURCES: There are 789 people assigned to the incident. Resources consist of 10 hotshot (Type 1) crews, 10 Type 2 crews, 9 engines, four camp crews and other personnel. Air operations will continue to support the fire suppression efforts as needed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home
Smoke conditions: www.pca.state.mn.us

--
Pagami Creek Fire
Public Information
218-365-3177

ORDER NO. R909-1 1 -18

ORDER OF THE FOREST SUPERVISOR
EMERGENCY PUBLIC SAFETY CLOSURE
AFFECTING PORTIONS OF
THE SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST

Under authority of the Act of Congress of June 4, 1897, 16 USC 551, and pursuant to the Secretary of Agriculture’s Regulations set forth at 36 CFR 261.50(a) and 261.50(b), and 261.50(f), the following acts or omissions are prohibited on portions of Superior National Forest System lands, roads and trails, Lake County, Cook County. Minnesota. These restrictions go into effective 12:01 am on Tuesday September 27, 2011.

1.    BWCAW CAMPSITE CLOSURE: It is prohibited to be upon BWCAW campsites and areas which are posted closed and included in the closure area. 36 CFR 261.53(e) Special Closures, Public Health or Safety.

2.    AFFECTED AREA: The Following campsites/areas/entry points of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are closed.

Wilderness Travel Zones
(SEE Appendix A Map of Wilderness Travel Zones)

#252 South half closed (Gabbro Lake Open)

#213
#283
#282
#281
#222
#212
#211
#221
#231
#242
#261
#271
#341
#351
#361
#332
#331
#292

Hiking Trail Entry Points
#56 Kekekabic East
#74 Kekekabic West /Snowbank
#86 Pow Wow Hiking Trail

AFFECTED AREA: The area and roads described below are included in this closure.

·         FR381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Road) and all areas north and east of FR 381.
·         FR373 (Northwest Road) south from the FR 377 (Tomahawk Road) to the intersection of FR369 and all areas north and east of this route.
·         FR369 east from the intersection of FR369 and FR373 to the intersection of FR369 and CR7, including all areas north of this route.
·         All areas to the west of CR7 between the intersections with FR369 and FR354 (CR7 open for travel).
·         FR354 north from the intersection with CR7, and all areas west of FR354.

3.    Closure signs will be used at normal points of access to delineate the closure area. See Pagami Creek Closure Area map, dated September 26, 2011.

THESE EMERGENCY RESTRICTIONS ARE NECESSARY FOR THE PUBLIC’S HEALTH AND SAFETY DUE TO WILDLAND FIRES IN THE VICINITY OF THE AFFECTED LANDS, WATERS, TRAILS, PORTAGES, CANOE ROUTES, AND DEVELOPED RECREATION SITES. THESE RESTRICTIONS WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT AS LONG AS THEY ARE POSTED ON-SITE AND UNTIL RESCINDED.
THESE RESTRICTIONS ARE IN ADDITION TO THE GENERAL PROHIBITIONS FOUND AT 36 CFR 261, SUBPART A, THE GENERAL OCCUPANCY AND USE RESTRICTIONS FOUND IN FOREST ORDER NOS. R909-06-01, R909-05-02, R909-04-06. THIS FOREST ORDER RECINDS AND SUPERCEDS ORDER NO. R909-11-17.

Pursuant to 36 CFR 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this order:

1.                Persons with a permit specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.

2.                Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of any organized rescue or fire fighting force in the performance of an official duty.

3.     Persons engaged in a business, trade or occupation in the area, when authorized and when accompanied by a Forest Officer or official member of the Incident Command Team.

Dated this 26th day of    September , 2011 Duluth, Minnesota.

                                                                    /s/ James W. Sanders
                                                                    James W. Sanders
                                                                   Forest Supervisor
                                                                   Superior National Forest

Violations of these prohibitions are punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. [16 USC § 551, 18 USC §§ 3559 and 3571.]

Pagami Creek Fire UPDATE September 23, 2011 35% Containment

2011-09-23T11:01:00.000-05:00

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE

Friday, September 23, 2011

Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.      E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534           Twitter: Twitter@inciweb

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 35% contained and remains at 93,669 acres. Fire restrictions were reduced: campfires and charcoal grills are allowed only between the hours of 6:00 PM and midnight in all areas of the Superior National Forest. Within metal fire rings at fee-for-use campgrounds, fires are allowed at any time. The Forest reduced the closure-order area, and the Lake County sheriff lifted all evacuations related to the Pagami Creek Fire. Yesterday, crews constructed over 3 miles of fire line, 3 miles of dozer line, and laid 3 miles of hose. A fire-line explosives kit was delivered to a division on the northern edge for possible use today. The containment line on the northwest side around the point of origin has no heat or smoke and will be patrolled by air. Crews found and mopped up six spot fires on the southeastern side near Forest Road (FR) 356.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         Continue backhauling equipment out of contained areas.
·         Work on direct line from Lake Two to Lake Four, and patrol for hotspots outside the line.
·         Continue to build saw line and lay hose from Lake Four to Hudson Lake to Lake Insula.
·         Extinguish any hot spots found near the containment line.
·         Complete setup for using fire-line explosives on the north central perimeter.
·         Construct direct line and patrol for host spots from Pietro Lake to Gull Lake.
·         Deploy five hotshot crews on the eastern side of the fire.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Community meetings are scheduled Saturday (Isabella Community Center, 11:00 a.m.), Sunday (Vermilion Community College theater, 2:00 p.m.), and Monday (Northern Tier Boy Scout Camp, 2:00 p.m.).

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR: Thursday’s light drizzle added a trace to .03 inch of rain over the fire area. Today temps will be in the upper 50s. Winds will be light from the south. Humidities will in the mid 40s. Saturday will be warmer with highs in the low 60s. Winds will remain southerly and light with humidities hovering around 40%. Dry, light southerly winds are expected through next Friday. After several days of creeping and smoldering fire behavior, the fire is expected to become more active and spot fires more visible as the ground heats up, temperatures increase, and fuels dry.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: Highway 1 is open. The following roads, trails, and areas are closed: FR 381 north from the intersection with FR 377 (Tomahawk Rd.) and all areas north and east of FR 381; FR 373 (Northwest Rd.) south from the FR 377 to the intersection of FR 369 and all areas north and east of this route; FR 369 east from the intersection of FR 369; FR 373 to the intersection of FR 369 and Lake Cty. Rd. 7 (Cramer Rd./Windy Lake Rd.) including all areas north of this route; all areas to the west of Lake Cty. Rd.7 between the intersections with FR 369 and FR 354 (Cty. Rd. 7 is open for travel); and FR 354 north from the intersection with Lake Cty. Rd. 7 and all areas west of FR 354.

SAFETY: Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority. Falling trees are a safety concern. The Isabella area has an increase in traffic due to fire crew activity. Be alert, reduce your speed, and be aware of additional vehicles on the roads.

DETECTED: August 18, 2011                        CAUSE: Lightning                     ACREAGE: 93,669

LOCATION: The fire started approximately 14 miles east of Ely.

RESOURCES: There are 877 incident personnel: ten hotshot (Type 1) crews, twelve Type 2 crews, and three camp crews. There are also 3 Type 1 helicopters, 2 Type 3 helicopters, 19 engines, 7 dozers, and 2 water tenders.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or 218-365-7600
Smoke conditions: www.pca.state.mn.us

Fire ban off, Fire restrictions back on. Fires Allowed between 6 pm and midnight.

2011-09-23T09:49:00.003-05:00

Fire ban off, Fire restrictions back on. Fires Allowed between 6 pm and midnight.
PRESS RELEASE
Superior National Forest

DATE: September 22, 2011

Contact:   Kristina Reichenbach   218-626-4393

Forest Service to Reduce Restriction of Campfires on the Superior National Forest

Effective as of 12:01 am Friday, September 23, 2011, the following campfire restrictions go into effect:

Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or wood/charcoal burning stove anywhere on national forest lands within the Superior National Forest in Cook, Lake and St. Louis Counties, Minnesota is allowed only between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight.   This includes the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The only exception is fee-for-use campgrounds where a fire, campfire or wood/charcoal burning stove may be used at any time.

Gas and propane stoves are permitted anytime in all areas of the Forest.

For additional information and updates, please see the Superior National Forest website:   www.fs.usda.gov/superior

ORDER OF THE FOREST SUPERVISOR

EMERGENCY FIRE RESTRICTIONS FOR THE SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST

Under authority of the Act of June 4, 1897, 16 USC 551, and pursuant to the Secretary of Agriculture's Regulations set forth at 36 CFR 261.50 (a), 261.50(b), and 261.50 (f), the following acts or omissions are prohibited within the administrative boundaries of the Superior National Forest in St Louis, Lake and Cook Counties, Minnesota. These restrictions go into effect 12:01 AM on Friday, September 23, 2011.

1. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire, including charcoal fires and charcoal grills with the following exceptions:

Within metal fire rings provided for that purpose at fee for use campgrounds.
Between the hours of 6:00 PM and 12:00 midnight in all areas outside of fee for use campgrounds.

36 CFR 261.52(a).

2. Possessing, discharging, or using any kind of firework or pyrotechnic device. 36 CFR 261.52(f).

3. Violating any state law concerning burning, fires or which is for the purpose of preventing, or restricting the spread of fires. 36CFR 261.52(k)

Pagami Creek Fire UPDATE September 22, 2011 30% Containment

2011-09-22T11:01:00.002-05:00

****Community Information Meetings*******

Agency officials will present an update on the fire status and suppression activities. Superior National Forest officials will discuss fire recovery activities in the days and months to come.

Isabella Community Center – Saturday, September 24th at 11 am
Ely – VCC Theater – Sunday, September 25th at 2 pm
Ferberg Road Area – Northern Tier Boy Scout Camp – Monday, September 26th at 2 pm

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE
Thursday, September 22, 2011

Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.      E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534           Twitter: Twitter@inciweb

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire remains at 30% contained and 93,669 acres. Between 0.2–0.5 inches of rain fell on the fire area yesterday. Since Sunday, 0.75–1 inch of rain has fallen on the fire. Three crews will be flown into Kawishiwi Lake today to start work on the eastern perimeter. On the southern perimeter, crews brushed over 2 miles of road, built 500 feet of dozer line, and 1000 feet of saw line.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         Inventory fire line and develop a rehabilitation plan to mitigate the effects of fire suppression.
·         Backhaul hose and pumps on the northwest side where the fire is controlled.
·         Use fire line explosives to construct 0.25 miles of fire line on the northern perimeter.
·         Establish a spike camps on Kwashachong and Square Lakes. Begin direct-line construction from Square Lake to Stringer Lake and to Fungus Lake.
·         Continue to construct fire line, scout for hotspots, and mop up.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Community meetings are scheduled for this Saturday (Isabella Community Center, 11:00 a.m.), Sunday (VCC theater, 2:00 p.m.), and Monday (Northern Tier Boy Scout Camp, 2:00 p.m.).

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR: Thursday will be cool and cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Temps will be in the high 40s. Northwest winds will 8–12 mph with gusts to 18 mph. A drying and warming trend will start Friday and extend into the weekend with highs in the mid to upper 60s. A season ending event for this area is considered 2 inches of rain over a three day period. Despite recent rains, the area is still in a 2–2.5 inch of deficit of rain. The fire today is expected to creep and smolder. Starting Saturday, fire behavior might increase slightly from creeping and smoldering to occasional surface fires.

AREA/ROAD CLOSURES: Highway 1 is open. The following roads and trails are closed: THE AREA AND ALL ROADS AND TRAILS NORTH OF Highway 1 starting at intersection of Forest Road (FR) 1468 and Highway 1 east to the intersection of the Wanless Road (FR 172) and Highway 1. The Wanless Road/FR 172 is closed as are all areas north of the Wanless Road/FR 172 to the Lake County Road 7/Cramer Road/Windy Lake Road (Cramer Road). The Cramer Road and all areas north of the Cramer Road are closed from the intersection of Hoist Road and Cramer Road. The Four Mile Grade is closed from the intersection of Cramer Road in Lake County to the Sawbill Road in Cook County; this includes Cook County Road 3.

SAFETY: Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority. Falling trees are a safety concern. The Isabella area has an increase in traffic due to fire crew activity. Be alert, reduce your speed, and be aware of additional vehicles on the roads.

DETECTED: August 18, 2011                        CAUSE: Lightning                     ACREAGE: 93,669

LOCATION: The fire is approximately east of Ely 14 miles.

RESOURCES: There are 858 incident personnel. There are three Type 1 helicopters, and two Type 3 helicopter. Nine hotshot (Type 1) crews, twelve Type 2 crews, and three camp crews are on the incident. There are also nineteen engines, seven dozers, and two water tenders assigned to the incident.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Area closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or 218-365-7600
Smoke conditions: www.pca.state.mn.us

Fire Update for Wednesday September 21, 2011

2011-09-21T10:47:00.002-05:00

PAgami Creek Fire
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
FIRE INFORMATION:
Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534 E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Phone: 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Twitter: Twitter@inciweb

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 30% contained. The size decreased to 93,669 acres because of more accurate GPS mapping on the northwest side. Of the total acreage, 9,274 acres are outside the wilderness. Between two tenths to one half of an inch of rain fell on the fire yesterday. Eleven canoes were airlifted into Insula Lake on the eastern side of the fire for incoming crews. The spike camp near Isabella is set up and fully operational for about 300 personnel.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
Conduct water-safety training for four new crews.
Assess the northeast side: scout line, identify camp locations, establish spike camp for crew, and evaluate the perimeter for possible use of fire line explosives to build fire line over rock with shallow soils.
Continue to patrol and pull hose from containment lines.
Continue to construct fire line, scout for hotspots, and mop up.

WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR: Showers will continue today. Temps will be in the mid to high 40s. Sustained NW winds will be in the teens with gusts in the mid 20s. Precipitation will taper to a drizzle by late Wednesday. An additional two tenths of an inch of rain is expected Wednesday. A drying and warming trend will start Thursday and extend into the weekend. The fire today is expected to continue to creep and smolder.

ROAD CLOSURES AND BLOCKS: Highway 1 is open. Closed roads are roads north of Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7; Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354; FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake; and the Wanless Road (FR172). In Lake County, road blocks are at the intersections of Highway 1 and the Tomahawk Trail; Highway 1 and Deep Lake Road; Highway 1 and Bandana Road; Highway 1 and Mitawan Lake Road; Highway 1 and Arrowhead Road; Highway 1 and Wanless Road; Wanless Road and Manitou Junction; Wanless Road and Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7; Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 and Hoist Creek Road; and Highway 1 and East Grade Road. In Cook County, a road block is at the intersection of Sawbill Trail and Four-Mile Grade. Four-Mile Grade is closed between FR 339 and FR 340.

SAFETY: Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority. Falling trees are a safety concern. There has been one injury to date.

DETECTED: August 18, 2011 CAUSE: Lightning ACREAGE: 93,669

LOCATION: The fire started at Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the BWCAW) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One. The fire perimeter from the north is Lake One, Two, Four, and Lake Insula. The eastern perimeter is the southern edge of Lake Polly and east of Kawasachong Lake, west of Perent Lake, and northwest of Silver Island Lake. The southern perimeter crosses the intersection of Island River Road and Lake Twenty-Nine Road, Twenty-Nine Lake, and the Isabella River to Bog Lake.

RESOURCES: There are 781 incident personnel, and three crews will be arriving today. There are three Type 1 helicopters, and two Type 3 helicopter. Six hotshot (Type 1) crews, twelve Type 2 crews, and two camp crews are on the incident. There are also twenty-three engines, seven dozers, and three water tenders assigned to the incident.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Wilderness closures and burning restrictions: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or 218-365-7600
Smoke conditions: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/
Pagami Creek Fire
Public Information
218-365-3177

Update Pagami Creek Fire Tuesday, September 20, 2011

2011-09-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire Tuesday, September 20, 2011

FIRE INFORMATION CONTACT: 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.         Phone: 218-365-3177
E-mail: PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com    Website: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire is now 23% contained. The size remains unchanged at 93,898 acres. Although the fire area received a half inch of rain on Sunday, when fire-behavior specialists flew over the fire on Monday afternoon they observed some trees torching, which is an indication that the fuels are still quite dry. However, today and Wednesday will be extremely wet, which will temper fire activity, increase fuel moisture, and begin to reduce the fire-danger indices. The fire is expected to smolder and creep today. Crews on Division B made good progress yesterday, constructing 2 miles of fire line eastward. Crews on Division C established and constructed 1.5 miles of line. Two resource advisers got to Division D and are scouting and planning in advance of crews being assigned to the division. Crews on the southern part of the fire also made good progress mopping up and securing line. Helicopters delivered 10,000 pounds of cargo to fire crews. Type 1 helicopters dropped 86 buckets on the fire area.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:

·         Continue to assess Division D: scout line, identify camp locations, and establish spike camp for crew.

·         Continue to patrol and pull hose from the containment line.

·         Continue to expand fire line, scout for hotspots, and mop up.

WEATHER: Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms are expected to move into the area this morning and continue throughout the day, dropping a quarter inch of rain. Highs will be in the low 60s. Winds will be from the south to southeast at 10–15 mph with gusts around 20 mph. Another quarter inch of rain is expected Wednesday. A drying trend will start Thursday and extend into the weekend.

BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS (BWCAW): The Superior National Forest has increased the number of entry points and portages that are open to the public. Detailed information can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534 or by calling 218-365-7600.

ROAD CLOSURES AND BLOCKS: Highway 1 is still open. Closed roads include all roads north of Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7; Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354; FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake; and the Wanless Road (FR172). Additional closures may occur.

In Lake County, road blocks are at the intersections of Highway 1 and the Tomahawk Trail; Highway 1 and Deep Lake Road; Highway 1 and Bandana Road; Highway 1 and Mitawan Lake Road; Highway 1 and Arrowhead Road; Highway 1 and Wanless Road; Wanless Road and Manitou Junction; Wanless Road and Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7; Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 and Hoist Creek Road; and Highway 1 and East Grade Road.

In Cook County, a road block is at the intersection of Sawbill Trail and Four-Mile Grade. Four-Mile Grade is closed between FR 339 and FR 340.

SAFETY: Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority. Falling trees are a safety concern; a firefighter was taken to the hospital yesterday with a leg injury. Forest-wide fire restrictions remain in effect, and details can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/superior/home or www.inciweb.org/incident/2534. Information on smoke conditions can be found on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website: www.pca.state.mn.us.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: 93,898 acres

LOCATION: The fire started at Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the BWCAW) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One. The fire perimeter from the north is Lake One, Two, Four, and Lake Insula. The eastern perimeter is the southern edge of Lake Polly and east of Kawasachong Lake, west of Perent Lake, and northwestern of Silver Island Lake. The southern perimeter crosses the intersection of Island River Road and Lake Twenty-Nine Road, Twenty-Nine Lake, and the Isabella River to Bog Lake.

RESOURCES: There are 738 incident personnel. There are four Type 1 helicopters, one Type 2 helicopters, and two Type 3 helicopter. Five hotshot (Type 1) crews, twelve Type 2 crews, and two camp crews are on the incident. There are also seventeen engines, six dozers, and two water tenders assigned to the incident.

Monday September 19, Pagami Creek Fire Update

2011-09-19T10:59:00.001-05:00

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE UPDATE

                                                                         Monday, September 19, 2011

CONTACT: Fire Information 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek fire is now 19% contained. Fire behavior was minimal Sunday, largely due to the one-third inch of rain that fell across the fire area, and the size remained the same at 93,898 acres. Today, fire-behavior specialists expect minimal to no fire spread with a little creeping and smoldering over the entire fire area. With the combination of precipitation, bucket drops, and cooler temperatures, five or six days of drying are needed before fire activity would increase.

Crews on Division B made good progress on the northern perimeter and extended line a half mile eastward. Crews from Divisions A and Z have been constructing line toward each other, and yesterday they met, creating a longer containment line on the northwest part of the fire. Crews on the southern part of the fire constructed 3,000 feet of dozer line and laid 1.5 miles of hose. Public-safety crews continue to assist campers out of the wilderness lakes and portages that are closed. Full-time residents in the mandatory evacuation area east of Isabella are now allowed access to their homes and property. The evacuation area remains closed to seasonal residents and the public. Closed roads are still staffed 24 hours a day by law enforcement. The fire remains under unified command with Cook and Lake Counties.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
·         Host a community meeting at the Isabella Community Center at 11:00 a.m.
·         Assess Division D: scout line and identify camp location, sling sites, and evacuation plan.
·         Continue to monitor the 19% containment line, mop up, construct direct fire line, and backhaul hose and equipment from Division A (point-of-origin area).
·         Continue to prepare the spike camp near Isabella for crews to be based there closer to the southern edge of the fire.

WEATHER:
The weather will be warm and mostly sunny today, with a high of 69–71 degrees. The relative humidity is 90% this morning but will drop to 28–33% this afternoon. Winds, 10–14 mph, will be from the west and northwest and gusts will be around 18 mph. Tuesday will be cool and wet with a low around 40 degrees and showers and isolated thunderstorms. Morning winds will be from the south and southeast (4–7 mph) and will switch to the southwest in the afternoon (10–14 mph, gusts 20 mph). Over Tuesday and Wednesday, a minimum of a half inch of rain should fall. Drier and gradually warming temperatures are expected Thursday.

BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS (BWCAW): The following entry points are OPEN: entry points along the Echo Trail (including Mudro); #25 Moose Lake (travel allowed only up the chain and to the west); #26 Wood Lake; #24 Fall Lake; the entire Trout Lake section (separate section south of the Echo Trail); #42 Brule ONLY; #54A Seagull ONLY; #55A Saganaga ONLY; and the small separate section northeast of the Gunflint Trail from #58 South Lake on the west to #70 North Fowl on the east. All other entry points in the BWCAW are closed.

ROAD CLOSURES: Highway 1 is still open. Closed roads include all roads north of Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7; Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354; FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake; and the Wanless Road (FR172). Additional closures may occur.

ROAD BLOCKS:
In Lake County, road blocks are at the intersections of Highway 1 and the Tomahawk Trail; Highway 1 and Deep Lake Road; Highway 1 and Bandana Road; Highway 1 and Mitawan Lake Road; Highway 1 and Arrowhead Road; Highway 1 and Wanless Road; Wanless Road and Manitou Junction; Wanless Road and Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7; Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 and Hoist Creek Road; and Highway 1 and East Grade Road. In Cook County, a road block is at the intersection of Sawbill Trail and Four-Mile Grade. Four-Mile Grade is closed between FR 339 and FR 340.

SAFETY: Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority. No injuries, accidents, or swamped canoes have been reported. Forest-wide fire restrictions remain: building, maintaining, or using a fire or campfire, including charcoal fires, wood-burning camp stoves, and charcoal grills, is prohibited on all lands (federal, state, local government, and private) within the administrative boundaries of the Superior National Forest. Charcoal grills are allowed at private residences. Use of pressurized liquid gas stoves is allowed. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and incident personnel are monitoring smoke conditions. Visit the following website for more information: pca.state.mn.us

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: 93,898 acres

LOCATION: The fire started at Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the BWCAW) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One. The fire perimeter from the north is Lake One, Two, Four, and Lake Insula. The eastern perimeter is the southern edge of Lake Polly and east of Kawasachong Lake, west of Perent Lake, and northwestern of Silver Island Lake. The southern perimeter crosses the intersection of Island River Road and Lake Twenty-Nine Road, Twenty-Nine Lake, and the Isabella River toBog Lake.

AGENCIES: Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and Superior National Forest

RESOURCES: There are 598 people assigned to the fire, which includes five Type 1 crews (hotshot crews) and eight Type 2 crews. There are four Type 1 helicopters, three Type 2 helicopters, one Type 3 helicopter, thirteen engines, six dozers, and 1 water tender assigned to the incident. There are 76 canoes. On Saturday, September 17th, air support dropped over 650,000 gallons of water on the fire.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Phone:            218-365-3177                                      E-mail:            PIOPagamiFire@gmail.com
Internet:         www.inciweb.org/incident/2534        Twitter:          Twitter@inciweb

Pagami Creek Fire Update 9 16 2011 Eight Percent Contained

2011-09-17T14:58:00.000-05:00

Containment is at 8% for the Pagami Creek Fire

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The incident commander announced Friday evening that the fire is 8% contained. Also, fire managers were able to more accurately map the fire's perimeter on Friday and decreased the acreage from an estimated 100,000 acres to a more precise 93,472 acres. Minnesota's Governor Dayton, U.S. Senators Klobuchar and Franken, and Representative Cravaak toured the fire area on Friday morning.

The fire remains under unified command with Cook and Lake Counties. Lake County Commissioners, the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team (IMT), and Aultman's Type 2 IMT (based in Cook County) began a coordinated effort to develop an integrated evacuation and structure-protection plan for the southeastern portion of the fire area. An Ontario liaison arrived and will remain on the incident.

Despite warmer temperatures, drier air, and slightly stronger winds on Friday, the fire primarily crept and smoldered along the ground. The fire will be more active today than it was yesterday, especially on the northern edge, because of increased southerly winds, stronger gusts, and very dry fuels. Most crews and air resources will be working on the northern and southern sides of the fire. As always, firefighter and public safety is the top priority.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:

Continue to monitor the 8% containment line.

Continue to construct and extend direct fire lines with saws, brush cutters, and dozers and lay fire hose on the fire's perimeter.

Be on the alert for spot fires, and use fire crews to direct air resources to drop water where needed.

Host a community meeting at the Isabella Community Center at 11:00 a.m.

BWCAW CLOSURES: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) closures remain the same. The following entry points are open: entry points along the Echo Trail (including Mudro); #25 Moose Lake (travel allowed only up the chain and to the west); #26 Wood Lake; #24 Fall Lake; the whole Trout Lake section (separate section south of the Echo Trail); #42 Brule ONLY; #54A Seagull ONLY; #55A Saganaga ONLY; and the small separate section northeast of the Gunflint Trail from #58 South Lake on the west to #70 North Fowl on the east.

ROAD CLOSURES: Highway 1 is still open. Closed roads include · All roads north of Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella · Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 · Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354 · FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake · Wanless Road (FR172) ROAD

CLOSURES CONTINUED: In Lake County, staffed road blocks will be at the intersections of · the Wanless and Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 · Highway 1 and the Wanless Road · Highway 1 and the Tomahawk Trail In Cook County, a staffed road block is at the intersection of the Sawbill Trail and Four-Mile Grade so Cook County Road 3 north of that intersection is closed. Additional closures may occur. SAFETY: Public and firefighter safety is the highest priority. Forest-wide fire restrictions remain: building, maintaining, or using a fire or campfire, including charcoal fires, wood-burning camp stoves, and charcoal grills, is prohibited on all lands (federal, state, local government, and private) within the administrative boundaries of the Superior National Forest. Charcoal grills are allowed at private residences. Use of pressurized liquid gas stoves is allowed. With increased traffic due to the fire and grouse-season starting today, all drivers-the public and fire personnel-should be alert and drive safely.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011 CAUSE: Lightning CURRENT SIZE: 93,472 acres LOCATION: The fire started at Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the BWCAW) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One. The fire perimeter from the north is Lake One, Lake Two, Lake Four, and Lake Insula. The perimeter on the east is the southern edge of Lake Polly and east of Kawasachong Lake, the northwest and southern shores of Square Lake, the western shore of Perent Lake, and the northwestern shore of Silver Island Lake, where the fire exited the BWCAW. The southern perimeter crosses the intersection of Island River Road and Lake Twenty-Nine Road, Twenty-Nine Lake, and the Isabella River to just inside the BWCAW at Bog Lake.

AGENCIES: Lake County Sheriff's Office, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Superior National Forest

SMOKE CONDITIONS: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and incident personnel are monitoring smoke conditions. Visit the following website for more information: pca.state.mn.us

RESOURCES: There are 510 people assigned to the fire. Five Type 1 crews and eight Type 2 crews are on the incident. Seven helicopters, including four National Guard Black Hawks, are assigned to the incident. Eight fixed-wing aircraft are assigned, including three float planes, two air tankers, and three air-attack planes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Phone: 218-365-3177 Internet: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 16, 2011

2011-09-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire Update
Friday, September 16, 2011

CONTACT: Fire Information 218-365-3177, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

TODAY'S MESSAGE: Doug Turman's Northern Rockies Type 1 National Incident Management Team assumed management of the Pagami Creek Fire yesterday. The fire is still under the unified command of the Lake and Cook County sheriff's offices and the Superior National Forest. Moderated fire behavior continued yesterday with the cooler temperatures, higher humidities, and lighter winds. Operations personnel made significant progress on both the northern and southern perimeters. Firefighters attacked the northwestern corner and pushed east along the northern perimeter. On the western flank, a crew began constructing line starting at Clearwater Lake and working toward the northwest. Sprinkler systems were installed on two portages. The southern divisions mopped up a small spot fire south of Bog Lake. Outside the wilderness, bulldozers were used to clear line and engine crews supported hand crews. A large spike camp has been established near Isabella. Additional fire restrictions go into effect today (see below).

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
· Continue to provide for the safety of the public and firefighters.
· Extend hose lays further east along the northern perimeter.
· Continue to construct line along the southern perimeter outside the wilderness before attacking the flanks within the wilderness.
· Complete water-safety training and other orientation with newly arrived crews.
· Host a community meeting at the Isabella Community Center at 11:00 a.m.
· Staff a Joint Information Center from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Kawishiwi Ranger District Office in Ely.

BWCAW CLOSURES: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) closures remain the same. The following entry points are open: entry points along the Echo Trail (including Mudro); #25 Moose Lake (travel allowed only up the chain and to the west); #26 Wood Lake; #24 Fall Lake; the whole Trout Lake section (separate section south of the Echo Trail); #42 Brule ONLY; #54A Seagull ONLY; #55A Saganaga ONLY; and the small separate section northeast of the Gunflint Trail from #58 South Lake on the west to #70 North Fowl on the east.

ROAD CLOSURES: Road closures remain the same. Highway 1 is still open. Closed roads include
· All roads north of Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella
· Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7
· Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354
· FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake
· Wanless Road (FR172)
Staffed road blocks within Lake County will be at
· intersection of Wanless and Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7
· Highway 1 and Wanless Road
· Highway 1 and Tomahawk Trail
The road block within Cook County will be Highway 3 just west of Sawbill Road. Additional closures may occur.

SAFETY: As of today, September 16, building, maintaining, or using a fire or campfire, including charcoal fires, wood-burning campstoves, and charcoal grills, is prohibited anywhere on national forest lands within the Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Use of pressurized liquid gas stoves is allowed.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: 100,000 acres

LOCATION: The fire started at Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the BWCAW) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One. The fire perimeter from the north is Lake One, Lake Two, Lake Four, and Lake Insula. The perimeter on the east is the southern edge of Lake Polly and east of Kawasachong Lake, the northwest and southern shores of Square Lake, the western shore of Perent Lake, and the northwestern shore of Silver Island Lake, where the fire exited the BWCAW. The southern perimeter crosses the intersection of Island River Road and Lake Twenty-Nine Road, Twenty-Nine Lake, and the Isabella River to just inside the BWCAW at Bog Lake.

AGENCIES: Lake County Sheriff's Office, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Superior National Forest

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and widespread depending on wind direction and speed.

RESOURCES: One hundred firefighters from Arizona were added yesterday, bringing personnel up to 436. Five Type 1 crews and eight Type 2 crews are on the incident. Seven helicopters, including four National Guard Black Hawks, are assigned to the incident. Eight fixed-wing aircraft are assigned, including three float planes, two air tankers, and three air-attack planes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Phone: 218-365-3177
Internet: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

FIRE BAN in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

2011-09-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

CAMPFIRE RESTRICTIONS - Effective 12:01 am on Friday, September 16, 2011, it is prohibited to build, maintain, or use a fire or campfire, including charcoal fires, wood-burning camp stoves, and charcoal grills anywhere on national forest lands within the Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Use of pressurized liquid gas stoves is allowed.

Pagami Creek Fire Update for Thursday, Sept 15, 2011

2011-09-15T11:20:00.001-05:00

Click for a bigger view

Pagami Creek Fire Update for Thursday, Sept 15, 2011

Contact: Fire Information 218-365-3177 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

TODAY'S MESSAGE: Management of the Pagami Creek Fire has transitioned to Doug Turman's Type 1 Team from the Northern Rockies. The fire is under the Unified Command of Lake County and Cook County Sheriff's Offices and the Superior National Forest. Cooler temperatures and a small amount of rain moderated fire behavior yesterday. Moderated fire behavior is expected again today. Direct attack began on the southern perimeter of the fire outside the wilderness. On the northwest corner, hose lays were extended and sprinkler systems were installed on portages.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
· Air resources will be active today, transporting crews, supplies as well as holding and reinforcing with the line.
· Heavy equipment including bulldozers, engines, and tankers along with fire fighters will be building line and attacking spot fires.
· A Community Meeting will be held daily at 11:00 a.m. at the Isabella Community Center until further notice.
· In-coming crews will receive watercraft safety training and other orientation.

BWCAW CLOSURES: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) closures remain the same. All entry points are closed except: entry points along the Echo Trail (including Mudro); #25 Moose Lake (travel allowed only up the chain and to the west); #26 Wood Lake; #24 Fall Lake; the whole Trout Lake section (separate section south of the Echo Trail); #42 Brule ONLY; #54A Seagull ONLY; #55A Saganaga ONLY; and the Vento section (small separate section northeast of the Gunflint Trail).

ROAD CLOSURES: Road closures remain the same. Note: Highway 1 is still open.
Closed roads include:
· All roads north of Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella;
· Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer/Lake County Road 7;
· Cramer/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354;
· FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake.
· The Wanless Road is closed.
· Staffed road blocks within Lake County will be at:
·o the intersections of Wanless and Cramer,
·o Highway 1 and Wanless,
·o Hwy 1 and Tomahawk Trail.
· The road block within Cook County will be Hwy 3 just west of Sawbill Road.
· Additional closures may occur.

SAFETY: The Superior National Forest and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are enacting additional fire restrictions for areas outside the BWCAW. Go to MNICS.org and the Superior National Forest websites for further information.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: 100,000 acres

LOCATION: The fire started at Township 63 N, Range 9 W, approximately 14 miles east of Ely (within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness [BWCAW]) in the Pagami Creek area between the South Kawishiwi River, Clearwater Lake, and Lake One. The Fire perimeter from the north is Lake One, Lake Two, Lake Four, Lake Insula. The perimeter from the east is the southern edge of Lake Polly and east of Kawasachong Lake, the northwest and southern shore of square Lake, the west shore of Perent Lake, and the northwest shore of Silver Island Lake where it exited the BWCAW. The southern perimeter crosses the intersection of Island River Road and Lake Twenty Nine Road, Twenty Nine Lake, and the Isabella River to just inside the BWCAW at Bog Lake.

AGENCIES: Lake County Sheriff's Office, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Superior National Forest

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide-spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: 325 personnel are assigned to the fire. Additional crews arrived last night and more are coming in today. Crews are here from Minnesota, New Jersey, Montana, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and California.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Phone (218) 365-3177
Internet: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

Pagami Creek Fire Area vs Blowdown 1999 area

2011-09-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

Some of you have been asking how the fire area (currently) compares to where the blowdown area from the straight line wind storm of 1999 is. I have roughly put the two areas on a map so you can get an idea of how the two compare. While there was some crossover of the blowdown to the South, the thickest part of the blowdown and the majority of it lies further north of the fire's current location. North towards the Gunflint Corridor from the Echo Trail. I've outlined the rough blowdown area with a WHITE COLOR BORDERED WITH RED and I've outlined the rough Pagami Creek Fire Area with ORANGE COLOR BORDERED WITH WHITE.

This is a representation only, not intended for navigation in any way. Since the Fire is active the area is also changing. Please realize this is only an attempt to answer a question that keeps coming up. I thought it could be useful as a visual tool to have the two incidents on one map. The blowdown does cross over and had pockets associated with it as well.

Hope this helps.

Click Map for Larger View

Pagami Creek Boundary Waters Fire Update September 14th, 2011

2011-09-14T11:43:00.002-05:00

Progression Map of the Pagami Lake Fire through September 13

Pagami Creek Fire Update for Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Contact: Fire Information 218-365-3177

TODAY'S MESSAGE: The Pagami Creek Fire continues under Unified Command of Lake County, MNICS, and the Superior National Forest. Acreage increased yesterday due in large part to improved mapping of the fire perimeter as the smoke cleared. The fire did push farther south, exiting the southern Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) boundary about one mile in a wavering line. Despite gusting winds, there was limited fire growth due to lower temperatures and higher humidity. Crews were very effective in continuing to hold the northwest corner of the fire. Areas around the fire were assessed and additional BWCAW and road closures were enacted. The National Guard is sending four Blackhawk helicopters and Manitoba is sending two water bombers and an air attack plane. Approximately 170 people attended a community meeting in Ely yesterday evening. About 40 people attended a meeting in Grand Marais yesterday evening.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
Containment efforts have begun with heavy equipment outside the wilderness along the southern perimeter. Crews will be patrolling lines and monitoring for any hot spots.
Airplanes and helicopters are being used to drop water to slow the spread of the fire.
Community Meetings will be held at the Poplar Lake Fire Hall on the Gunflint Trail at 11:00 a.m. and at the Isabella Community Center at 11:00 a.m., today, September 14, 2011.

BWCAW CLOSURES: All entry points are closed except for: entry points along the Echo Trail (including Mudro); #25 Moose Lake (travel allowed only up the chain and to the west); #26 Wood Lake; #24 Fall Lake; the whole Trout Lake section (separate section south of the Echo Trail); #42 Brule ONLY; #54A Seagull ONLY; #55A Saganaga ONLY; and the Vento section (small separate section northeast of the Gunflint Trail).

ROAD CLOSURES: All roads north of the following route are closed: Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Cramer/Lake County Road 7; Cramer/Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354; FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake. Highway 1 is still open. The Wanless Road is closed. Road blocks staffed within Lake County will be at the intersections of Wanless and Cramer, Highway 1 and Wanless, Hwy 1 and Tomahawk Trail. Road blocks within Cook County will be Hwy 3 just west of Sawbill Road. Additional closures may occur.

SAFETY: The Superior National Forest and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are enacting additional fire restrictions for areas outside the BWCAW. Go to the http://www.inciweb.org/, MNICS.org and the Superior National Forest websites for further information.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: 100,000 acres

LOCATION: Township 63 N, Range 9 W, 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

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide-spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: 230 personnel are assigned to the fire.

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

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 13, 2011

2011-09-13T16:32:00.001-05:00

UPDATE, AS OF TUESDAY NIGHT, THE 13TH OF SEPTEMBER, THE FIRE'S SIZE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AT 100,000 ACRES PLUS.

Open Entry Points

Anything on the Echo Trail:
#6 Slim Lake, #23 Mudro, #77 Hegman Lake, #20 Angleworm, #19 Stuart River, #7 Big Lake, #8 Moose River South, #16 Moose River North, 14 Indian Souix North, #9 Indian Souix South

#4 Crab Lake, #24 Fall Lake, #26 Wood Lake

#25 Moose Lake is open BUT You Must Travel West

Pagami Creek Fire

September 13, 2011

Contact: Fire Information 218-365-3177

TODAY'S MESSAGE: Yesterday, a finger of the Pagami Creek Fire made an unprecedented 16 mile run to the east, reaching the edge of Polly Lake. The fire became a plume-driven event and reached in excess of 60,000 acres. The fire is now under Unified Command with Lake County Sheriff's Office as full partners of management of this fire. Residents were evacuated from 36 addresses along the portion of the Cramer Road/Lake County Road 7 from Kawishiwi Lake south to the Wanless Road (Forest Road 172) and along the Wanless Road west from the junction with the Cramer Road to Homestead Lake. Public Safety crews continue to range the wilderness, moving visitors out of areas where they may be at risk. A town meeting held in Isabella was attended by about 100 concerned residents. Winds are expected to be strong and out of the northwest and west again today with little or no precipitation expected.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:

Hand crews on the north side of the fire will be patrolling lines and monitoring for any fire spread

Airplanes and helicopters are being used to drop water to slow the spread of the fire.

Areas around the fire within the BWCAW are being assessed to plan for visitor evacuation and closure.

A Community Meeting will be held at the Vermilion Community College in Ely, Minnesota tonight, September 13, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Daily public meetings will be held in Isabella Community Center at 11:00 a.m.

A Joint Information Center has been set up in the Kawishiwi Ranger District Office for answering both Superior National Forest and Lake County questions.

BWCAW CLOSURES: Closures will be added soon. A complete list will be sent out soon.

ROAD CLOSURES: All roads north of the following route are closed: Highway 1 from Forest Road (FR) 1468 east to Isabella; Wanless Road (FR 172) east to Lake County Road 7; Lake County Road 7 north to FR 354; FR 354 north to BWCAW boundary at Kawishiwi Lake. Highway 1 is still open. Road blocks staffed within Lake County will be at the intersections of Wanless and Cramer, Highway 1 and Wanless, Hwy 1 and Tomahawk Trail. Road blocks within Cook County will be Hwy 3 just west of Sawbill Road. Additional closures may occur.

SAFETY: The Superior National Forest and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are enacting additional fire restrictions for areas outside the BWCAW. Go to the MNICS.org and the Superior National Forest websites for further information.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011 CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: in excess of 60,000 acres

LOCATION: Township 63 N, Range 9 W, 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

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: Nearly 200 personnel are assigned to the fire.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Phone (218) 365-3177

Internet: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534 Follow us on Twitter@inciweb

Pagami Creek Fire now over 60,000 acres, threatening Isabella

2011-09-13T08:40:00.002-05:00

View of fire from Jasper Lake by Chuck Dayton

View of Fire from Section 12 Lake by Chuck Dayton


View of fire from Garden Lake by Chuck Dayton September 12, 2011

We'll update you later today, when our report arrives.

MPR reports that the fire grew to 60,000 acres yesterday.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/13/pagami-fire-60000-acres-evacuations-underway/

September 12 Pagami Creek Update Acres Burned Doubled in Size

2011-09-12T10:15:00.002-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire Update

                       September 12, 2011

Contact: Fire Information 218-365-3177
TODAY’S MESSAGE: Yesterday, strong north winds drove a point of the Pagami Creek Fire south toward the Isabella River. Approximately 50 campers from the river and lake routes south of the fire and 70 campers along the eastern front of the fire were assisted out of the wilderness by Public Safety Crews. Entry points near the fire were closed and campers with reservations were given the option to reserve a new permit with available quota from other entry points. Wilderness wide campfire restrictions were enacted. Campfires will be allowed only between 6:00 p.m. and midnight until further notice.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
        Public Safety crews are posted at portages and entry points to keep visitors clear of areas threatened by fire as well as those areas that may fill with dense smoke.
        Airplanes and helicopters are being used to drop water, keeping the fire within the wilderness and south and east of the Kawishiwi River.
        Crews will focus containment efforts on the northern edge and southern tip of the fire.

CLOSURES: Most of the BWCAW remains safe and open to visitors. To insure public safety the following waterways and portages are closed: Lakes One through Hudson, Fire, Bridge, Rifle, the Wilders, Horseshoe, Pagami, Clearwater, Turtle, Camdre, Pietro, Gull, Quadga, Rice, Isabella Lake, and the Isabella River. The southern campsites on Bald Eagle are closed. The Pow Wow Trail is closed. The following entry points are closed: #30 Lake One, #84 Snake River, #75 Little Isabella River, #67 Bog Lake, #86 Pow Wow Trail, #35 Isabella Lake, and #34 Island River. Today, campsites on the southern end of Insula Lake will be added to the closures. Sites, routes and portages will be re-opened as soon as it is safe to do so.

SAFETY: Public Safety crews will be working with campers in nearby lakes including Insula to advise them of safe travel routes. Campfire restrictions are in place. In the entire BWCAW campfires are allowed only between 6 p.m. and midnight. Be sure that campfires are doused thoroughly until cold to the touch.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011
CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: approximately 11,000 acres--acreage is expected to increase today due to weather conditions.

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

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: A 20 person Minnesota Incident Command System crew of firefighters arrived last night. Another crew is on order. Yesterday, we received assistance from a Canadian air tanker. A helicopter and a CL-215 air tanker are at the Ely tanker base.

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

BWCAW Closures and Fire RESTRICTIONS

2011-09-12T09:25:00.001-05:00

PRESS RELEASE
Superior National Forest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 11, 2011

Forest Service to Restrict Campfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
In light of continued unseasonably dry, warm conditions the Forest Service is restricting
campfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).
Beginning September 12, 2011 until further notice, campfires will only be allowed between 6:00pm and midnight at designated campsites within firegrates in the BWCAW. Use of gas and propane stoves are permitted anytime.

All visitors to the Superior National Forest and surrounding area are urged to take care with the
use of fire where permitted. Be sure that campfires are doused thoroughly until cold to the touch.
This restriction includes the entire BWCAW.
Additional Information: As a safety precaution, the Forest Service has closed some of the area
adjacent to the Pagami Creek Fire. Most of the BWCAW remains open to visitors eager to enjoy
the fall season.

For continued updates regarding the Pagami Creek Fire see www.inciweb.org/incident/2534

PAGAMI CREEK FIRE UPDATE 9-11-11

TODAY'S MESSAGE: Yesterday's dry air and north winds pushed the Pagami Creek Fire farther south yesterday. In consideration of today's high fire indices, fire managers began a proactive movement of campers from Lakes Two through Hudson, nearby routes, and the Isabella River within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Specific closures are listed below. Most of the BWCAW remains safe and open to visitors eager to enjoy the fall season.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:

Public Safety crews are sweeping the areas to be closed, assisting campers into other lakes.

Airplanes and helicopters are being used to drop water, keeping the fire within the wilderness and south and east of the Kawishiwi River.

CLOSURES: The vast majority of the BWCAW remains safe and open to visitors. To insure public safety the following waterways and portages are temporarily closed: Lakes One through Hudson, Fire, Bridge, Rifle, the Wilders, Horseshoe, Pagami, Clearwater, Turtle, Camdre, Pietro, Gull, Quadga, Rice, Isabella Lake, and the Isabella River. The southern campsites on Bald Eagle are closed. The Pow Wow Trail is closed. Sites, routes and portages will be re-opened as soon as it is safe to do so. The following entry points are closed: #30 Lake One, #84 Snake River, #75 Little Isabella River, #67 Bog Lake, #86 Pow Wow Trail, #35 Isabella Lake, and #34 Island River. Campers already in the BWCAW will be able to travel through these routes to exit the wilderness but visitors will not be allowed to enter at these points until further notice.

SAFETY: Campfire restrictions are in place. Wilderness wide, campfires are allowed only between 6 p.m. and midnight. Be sure that campfires are doused thoroughly until cold to the touch.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: approximately 4500 acres burned. Acreage is expected to increase today due to weather conditions.

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

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke may be heavy and wide spread depending on wind direction.

RESOURCES: The fire is now under the management of Type 2 Incident Management Team Hinds.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

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

Pagami Creek Fire MONITORING PHASE September 8th Update

2011-09-08T11:05:00.000-05:00

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

Latest on Pagami Creek Fire September 7, 2011

2011-09-07T10:07:00.002-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire

UPDATE: September 7, 2011

TODAY’S MESSAGE: Firefighters completed the burn out operation on the Pagami Creek Fire yesterday. Today crews will be focused on securing the fire line and identifying hazards that could make their work more dangerous. Hand firing may be used today to burn out pockets of un-burnt 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.

ACTIVITIES TODAY:
• Helicopters may be used to drop water on areas of the fire as part of mop up efforts.
• A variety of aerial resources will be used to monitor the fire.
• Crews will be patrolling the fire line and may be hand firing to remove remaining un-burnt fuel.

OUTLOOK: Firing operations were completed yesterday. Crews will begin mop up efforts today. Mop up includes looking for hot spots within the fire, patrolling the line looking for spots where fire could have crossed, and improving the line if needed. Dry weather trends are predicted into mid-September.

SAFETY: There are no imminent threats to public safety or private properties. Travel on the rarely used route between Lake Two and Clearwater Lake is not safe at this time. The portages between Lakes One and Two are open. Do not leave fires unattended and douse campfires thoroughly.

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: 1335 acres burned. Acreage should be expected to rise due to the burn out.

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: Surface fire and occasional 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:
Phone (218) 365-3177
Internet: www.inciweb.org/incident/2534 Follow us on Twitter@inciweb

Quick update for multiple fires burning in the BWCAW

2011-09-06T16:48:00.001-05:00

A couple of links to recent news stories about fires in the Boundary Waters.

We will keep you posted with updates from the Forest Service tomorrow.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/208595/

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/06/firefighters-work-to-control-fire-in-boundary-waters-wilderness-/

Right now it looks and smells worse than it is out there, but keep in mind if you are traveling it is dry outside. Being careful is never overrated.

PNC

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 6

2011-09-06T11:03:00.000-05:00

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

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 4

2011-09-05T09:59:00.002-05:00

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

Pagami Creek Boundary Waters Fire Update September 2

2011-09-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

Pagami Creek Fire

                                                UPDATE: September 2, 2011

TODAY’S MESSAGE: The Interagency Management Team is prepared to conduct a firing operation on the east side of the fire when conditions become favorable. Reducing the fuels in this area will reduce the potential for the fire to spread outside the Wilderness boundary and threaten private properties to the north or to threaten the heavily-used Lake One and Lake Two areas. This planned burn-out is part of a long term strategy.

KEY OBJECTIVES:

        Keep the fire within the Wilderness
        Maintaining safety of the public and firefighters
        Provide safe access for Wilderness visitors while allowing the fire to serve its role in the ecology of the Wilderness.

ACTIVITES: Pending acceptable weather for the burn-out, crews will continue to monitor the fire and continue with mop-up at the north end of the fire. Safety crews will continue to contact and inform Wilderness travelers. The sprinkling system along the portages between Lakes One and Two is complete. By the end of today the sprinkler system along Rock Island Portage will be in place and ready for use.

OUTLOOK: Very little rain was received on the fire yesterday. Predicted drying trends may provide a window for the firing operation in the near future.

There are no imminent threats to public safety or private properties. There are no closures in place at this time. Wilderness travelers can expect a brief delay in portaging between Lakes One and Two during the firing operation. Visitors are asked to stay off Pagami Creek and to stay clear of the fire area.

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 has moderated due to high humidity and low winds.

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

RESOURCES: Minnesota Interagency Incident Management Team B is managing the fire with approximately 103 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

Update on Pagami Creek BWCAW Fire Near Ely

2011-08-29T08:21:00.000-05:00

Reprinted from the Forest Service:

Pagami Creek Fire

August 28, 2011

DATE OF DETECTION: August 18, 2011

CAUSE: Lightning

CURRENT SIZE: Approximately 200 acres within fire perimeter (estimated 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: The fire made a rapid run to the South East on Friday, August 26th when relative humidity dropped to 18% and 15-20 mph NW winds continued for several hours. Fire continues to be active.

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

RESOURCES: Public safety crews are in place. There are currently about twenty 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 29th. The team will develop and implement contingency plans to meet the management objectives.

TODAY’S MESSAGES: Public and Firefighter safety is always the top priority. Other management objectives include:
•
Insure 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 poss
•
Keep the public informed of the Pagami Fire location, activity, and any threats to human safety and private property.

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.
SPECIAL NOTE: The high visibility of smoke from this fire is generating a lot of inquiries therefore an Open House is scheduled for Sunday, August 28 from 4:00 – 5:00 at the Kawishiwi Ranger District office located at 1393 Highway 169 (1/4 mile east of Ely across from the International Wolf Center.) Maps and other information will be available and staff will be on hand for questions.
Outlook: 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. 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.

FIRE INFORMATION: (218) 365-2093 Becca Manlove
(218) 365-7619 Tracy Richards

A letter to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Scout Leaders from Steve Piragis

2011-08-08T12:03:00.000-05:00

Always a Scout

I often get asked what got me interested in the outdoors. I always answer: My Dad and Boy Scouts. I grew up in the hills of central Massachusetts, a part of the East where progress was slow to take over the land. My dad took me trout fishing the streams in the deep woods when no trespassing signs were rarely seen. Good old Troop 18 met in the basement of the Catholic Church but the big fun was on camp outs and at summer camp on the lake. Scouting was about all the good things in the Scout Oath but the fun was out in nature. Hikes, campouts and paddling around Sandy Lake or up on the wild part of the Connecticut River.

Scouts in the 1960’s didn’t have the best of equipment. In fact it was really pretty primitive; canvas tents, no sleeping pads, heavy aluminum canoes and splintered wooden paddles. I’m still amazed that any of us made it to middle age without major back issues and crooked spines. The Scouts of today have all the gear available to make even better memories. They should be safer in their outdoor adventures and a whole lot more comfortable. We forgot long ago the misery of sleeping on cold ground and the weight of the portage packs but there is no need to make any trek or paddling trip a endurance test for young bodies.

I’m proud today to be able to outfit the Scout groups that come through Piragis Northwoods Company for their Boundary Waters/Quetico canoe trips with the lightest gear and canoes available. Boy and Girl Scouts of the 21st Century of course don’t know how really good they have it but we can smile and know they will grow up to know and love the outdoors perhaps even more than we did.

Eagle Scout: Steve Piragis

Steve Piragis
Piragis Northwoods Company
105 N. Central Ave
Ely, Mn 55731

1 800 223-6565
1 218 365-6745

"Our trip to the Boundary Waters was the highlight of the year for many of our scouts and we are already discussing a return trip. The 2009 trip was my fifth trip to Ely and the fifth time using Piragis Northwoods. This is not a coincidence, but a tribute to you and your staff for the excellent service and gear you provide time and time again. It is with much gratitude that I tip my hat to everyone at Piragis."

Dave Herbster, Sabetha, KS

"I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our High Adventure in the Boundary Waters, and how smooth and easy you guys made it for us. Also, let Bert know we appreciate all of his work on our trip, too. The packs, canoes, paddles and vests were all top-notch and the price was right on. Your facility is great, especially the showers! Rest assured I will ABSOLUTELY recommend you in the future, and when (not if) we return to the BWCA you will be our first and, most likely, only call."

Tony Anaya – Cincinnati, OH

Dear Scout Leader:

I'd like to introduce myself and my company with the hope that what follows will be of mutual benefit and enjoyment to both the Boy Scout council and the scouts as they continue to explore the outdoors. I'm writing to you from beautiful Ely, Minnesota on the edge of over 2000 wilderness lakes that are only accessible by canoe.

My name is Steve Piragis, owner and co-founder of Piragis Northwoods Company and the Boundary Waters Catalog. My wife, Nancy and I began our business in Ely, Minnesota in 1979. Our commitment to preserving wilderness for canoeists and campers alike has remained steadfast. Our backyard is home to the world's greatest canoeing area. New adventures are launched from Ely everyday.

Our knowledge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and our northern neighbor, Ontario's Quetico Park is based on our extensive travel experience and dedication to the sport of canoeing. Simply put, our canoe outfitting staff knows the routes because we paddle them. We know the gear because we use it. Before it ever makes it into our rental fleet onto the retail store floor or pages of the catalog, it experiences real use in the great outdoors.

As canoe trip outfitters we specialize in lightweight canoes and gear that are durable enough for wilderness conditions but light enough to take the strain off of backs both young and old. Forty-four pound kevlar canoes and 15.5 oz kevlar paddles are standard equipment here and they really make a difference. We offer full-outfitting packages including all the gear and food needed for a canoe trip and we also have partial canoe trip outfitting that allows paddlers to rent a single canoe or piece of gear by the day.

You can find us online at www.piragis.com and reach us by phone at 1-800-223-6565. Ely, Minnesota is the destination for canoe campers. With our extensive experience and clients who return year after year to rent from us, we know that should your leaders and scouts desire to travel to the Boundary Waters, we can plan the trip of a lifetime for them to enjoy.

Thank you for your time,

Steve Piragis, President
Piragis Northwoods Company
105 North Central Avenue
Ely, MN 55731
1-800-223-6565

Stuff that works: Cliff Jacobson's Susie Bug Net

2011-08-08T11:12:00.002-05:00

Well, thankfully, every once in a while we get examples of unique uses (and everyday uses) of our gear mailed to us in the form of pictures, emails, written letters, prints, etc. We love to hear from you guys, so anytime you've got feedback on our canoes, gear or customer service feel free to pass it on.

Cooke Custom Sewing makes a popular product that we've carried in our catalog for years. Since it is really a big bag of netting, I struggled with a way to picture its versatility and functionality in the catalog. Of course I wanted to get a picture in use outdoors, with lots of bugs swarming, but where to get the volunteers? And what about the poor guy behind the camera... and then how to get the netting to show up in the catalog on the page? That was the real goal.

So we set up this picture in the studio long ago. Boy my kids were little then :)

Susie Bug Net

And hey, this IS ONE use for the net. Reading in your camp chair. Provides the relief. People drape it over the latrine, it is true. Folks take it out into the lake when the bathe, true too. The point is it works. Click Here for the Susie Bug Net in our Catalog.

One customer sent us a short explanation of his use and a picture. Then we understood something else as well. It REALLY WORKS WELL. In some settings it could keep a person sane -- like way up in the Yukon where the bugs were nasty bad!

"I've been looking at that happy family picture of the Bug Net for years.

Attached is a "real" picture of the Suzie Bag Bug Net in use.

The picture was self-timed in the Yukon Flats in 2003. For my 60th year, I paddled solo in an open canoe from Whitehorse to the Pipeline crossing, about 1100 miles, loafing along and taking 60 days to do it.

I had a bunch of your stuff, including Boat Tape, D-ring kit, Kevlar repair kit, Blue Barrels, Bilge Sponge, a map case and Mukluk Lights, but the Suzie Bag was the thing that I could not have done without.

The picture is yours. Enjoy or use it anyway you want.

Tommy T."

Reading in the Susie Bug Net on the Yukon River. Click for larger view.

Click Here for the Susie Bug Net in our Catalog.

Send us your pictures of Stuff That Works from Piragis! You can contact us here.

Smoke in the Ely YESTERDAY August 3rd Area NOT FROM BWCAW

2011-08-04T07:47:00.001-05:00

Remember those Ontario fires we posted about back on July 19? Well they're apparantly still burning. Yesterday the wind was low and the humidity was high. Ely smelled like we were on the edge of something big and red. It was just the combination of conditions, though. From the Forest Service:

Smoke Reports from August 3, 2011

CAUSE: Smoke is rolling south from large wildfires in Ontario, Canada.

AGENCY: Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District

STATUS: We have a fire patrol over our area now and the pilot can see the smoke moving down across the international border. Winds are calm and the humidity is high, keeping the smoke low and heavy.

SMOKE CONDITIONS: Smoke is very widespread across northeastern Minnesota.

What is the Boundary Waters all About?

2011-08-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

We get asked this question all the time. Do you have a coffee table book that you'd recommend? We want to see pictures of this place, you know typical shots, camping, canoeing wildlife, etc. Well, as for typical, yes, and no. Many of these are typical, some of them are fantastic. Did you know how Santa travels in the BWCA for instance? Watch and see. Compiled from great shots that Steve Piragis has taken over the years and the best of the best that our outfitting clients and friends have submitted.

Enjoy and tell a friend who's interested in the Boundary Waters. This is it. A little over five minutes of your time and you'll be hooked. Wilderness is calling!

Lifting Boundary Waters Canoes for Women

2011-08-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

Women can easily lift Boundary Waters Canoes. Nancy Piragis illustrates just how easy it is for women and those with bad backs to lift a Wenonah Minnesota II up on your shoulders. Start with the canoe on your quads and using both hands on opposite sides of the canoe, flip it/roll it up onto your shoulders resting the horseshoe yoke around your neck. Kevlar canoes commonly weigh 44 - 48 lbs and there is no reason that women in average physical shape shouldn't be able to lift a one with this technique.

Canoe Trip Photojournal, July 2011

2011-07-27T12:35:00.001-05:00

Steve and Nancy recently took time out to get a canoe trip in. The weather here has been beautiful and the water is perfect for swimming. I don't know why they call these the dog days, they feel like paradise!

All shot a site on the east end of Loon Bay were the Heritage Creek flows into Lac La Croix. Cool temps over night resulted in fog over the warm lake but the day soon warmed up to the mid 80's with few clouds.

Click image for larger view

Boundary Waters Techniques: How to Lift a Canoe and Pack

2011-07-21T15:57:00.001-05:00

Doing things properly in the wilderness can prevent accident and injury. Proper instruction before your canoe trips is a responsibility we take seriously. These basics are part of what our Outfitting Staff will cover with you when you arrive to begin your Boundary Waters Trip, but we know that some of you would like to get a head start on things from home. Watch and enjoy. Any questions, call or email us. Stuff that works (when done properly) brought to you by Your Friends in the Great Northwoods.

Thanks to Zane who worked on this video as part of his internship program and thanks to Adam as well.

Green Fire Film about Aldo Leopold shown in Ely tomorrow night.

2011-07-20T12:32:00.001-05:00

July 21, 2011 7:00 pm in Ely, MN
Vermilion Community College Theater

"Green Fire" will be shown to an audience in Ely, MN. Curt Meine will be at the screening. Admission is free. The theater seats 190 people.

Vermilion Community College Theater
1900 East Camp Street
Ely, MN 55731
• Phone: 218-365-2618

The first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, Green Fire highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. Leopold remains relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.

“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949

The impact of his own gunshot from a rimrock in Arizona changed Aldo Leopold’s own thinking, leading to the key insight that was the culmination of his life’s work: a responsibility for its health. Join us as we trace Leopold’s personal journey and follow the threads that connect to his legacy today.

The Green Fire Film Project

Green Fire was produced in partnership between the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Center for Humans and Nature, and the US Forest Service. The film provocatively examines Leopold’s thinking, renewing his idea of a land ethic for a population facing 21st century ecological challenges. Leopold's biographer, conservation biologist Dr. Curt Meine, serves as the film's on-screen guide.

Green Fire describes the formation of Leopold’s idea, exploring how it changed one man and later permeated through all arenas of conservation. The film draws on Leopold’s life and experiences to provide context and validity, then explores the deep impact of his thinking on conservation projects around the world today. Through these examples, the film challenges viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land community.

The high-definition film will utilize photographs, correspondence, manuscripts and other archival documents from the voluminous Aldo Leopold Archives as well as historical film and contemporary full-color footage on location, including landscapes that influenced Leopold and that he in turn influenced.

The film also features commentary and insight from some of today’s most recognized and credible scholars and conservation leaders, including: three of Aldo Leopold’s children—Nina, Carl, and Estella, Leopold scholars, noted environmental writers, scientists, humanities experts, public policy leaders, business leaders,; and leaders of non-profit groups inspired by Leopold.

FROM:
Aldo Leopold Foundation
PO Box 77
Baraboo, WI 53913
608.355.0279
greenfire@aldoleopold.org

Smoke in the Ely Area NOT FROM BWCAW

2011-07-19T12:29:00.000-05:00

Smoke in the air is NOT from Boundary Waters:

FROM OUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HERE IN ELY:  

Most of the Ely area as well as other parts of Northeastern MN are experiencing a strong smoke smell from Canadian fires. The majority of the fires in Canada are being managed by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) Districts Red Lake and Sioux Lookout districts. These districts combined, have a total of 76 fires involving 654224 acres. Most of these fires are lightning caused and will be managed by the OMNR. The inversion this morning is causing the smoke to stay in the area. Increased wind speeds and lower humidity, will decrease the smell of smoke to the area.  

Tracy Richards,
Visitor Information Specialist
Superior National Forest
Kawishiwi Ranger District

Boundary Waters Bear Watch Update 07 19 2011

2011-07-19T12:14:00.000-05:00

Well, no "official" word on bear sightings in the BWCAW but some of our customers have kept us updated as they travel the wilderness by canoe. They were kind enough to share where they (and apparently others) have seen bears on trail.

Drew

Thanks once again to the crew at Piragis. Everything went well as usual.

Wanted to let you know we had a bear in camp 2 mornings while we were on Malberg. The next camp down had issues as well the bear had been in that camp site at least 5 times (per the note that was left). Thought someone might want a heads up!

Steve Banet

Drew:

We picked up permit from you last Monday 7/11 -- just FYI, we camped one night at the Eastern most campsite ON the Horse portage, just below the 3rd drop (?) of upper Basswood Falls. We had a bear visit us twice; once in evening, and clearly this wasn't her first campsite tour! We shagged her away, but she was in no hurry to leave, and paused to investigate tent and canoe on way out. Then in the a.m. she returned, and we shagged her away again - however - she was a bit more assertive. Needless to say, we skipped breakfast and headed west!

Also, I'm sure you know by now, there are signs up at West end of Wheelbarrow portage indicating "No camping: aggressive bear in area". I thought this might be helpful for folks to know.

Happy summer!

Jenny & Beth from Grand Rapids, MN

Piragis Northwoods Company News and Reviews

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition: Homecoming

#14 Little Indian Sioux North Loop: Mid-June 2011

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 19: Full Moon

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 18: Lower Kahiltna Ski

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 17: The Descent

Lonnie Dupre Mount Mckinley Expedition Day 16: 97 MPH

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 15: Fickle Weather

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 14: Anticipation

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 13: Rest at 14,200

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 12: Headwall

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 11: Prep for High Camp

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 10: Windy Corner

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 9: Media/Update

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 8: Taxi to 12,300FT

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 7: 11,200FT Camp

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 6: R&R

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 5: Movin on up

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 4: Christmas

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 3: Ski Hill

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition Day 2: Kahiltna Glacier

Lonnie Dupre Mount McKinley Expedition: Day 1

Snowbank Loop

2011 Spring Quetico Trip: Beaverhouse to Moose Lake

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: Destination Boundary Waters

Pagami Creek Fire. First Pictures of Lake Two and Lake Three Area

Boundary Waters Fire 89% Contained

Fire Ban Off. No fire Restrictions in the Boundary Waters

Boundary Waters Fire Update 10/13/2011

Boundary Waters Fire Update 10/12/11

Boundary Waters Fire Update 10/11/11

A review from a Happy Customer! Thanx Michelle!

Boundary Waters Fire Update October 10, 2011

Fire Ban On. Fire Danger Levels High.

Only 21 Rental Canoes Left! Save hundreds of dollars!

Boundary Waters Fire Update October 6

Seitaniemi House Barn Restoration project in Embarrass, MN

Boundary Waters Fire Update, Warm Weather increases fire activity

Boundary Waters Closure Update October 4, 2011

Boundary Waters Fire Update Tuesday October 4, 2011

Boundary Waters Fire Update Monday October 3, 2011

Fires now Allowed in Boundary Waters Sept. 30, 2011

Boundary Waters Updated Closure List

Boundary Waters Fire Update September 29, 2011 IT IS RAINING!

Boundary Waters Fire Update September 28, 2011

Boundary Waters Fire Update Pagami Creek Fire September 27th, 2011

Pagami Creek Fire UPDATE September 23, 2011 35% Containment

Fire ban off, Fire restrictions back on. Fires Allowed between 6 pm and midnight.

Pagami Creek Fire UPDATE September 22, 2011 30% Containment

Fire Update for Wednesday September 21, 2011

Update Pagami Creek Fire Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Monday September 19, Pagami Creek Fire Update

Pagami Creek Fire Update 9 16 2011 Eight Percent Contained

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 16, 2011

FIRE BAN in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Pagami Creek Fire Update for Thursday, Sept 15, 2011

Pagami Creek Fire Area vs Blowdown 1999 area

Pagami Creek Boundary Waters Fire Update September 14th, 2011

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 13, 2011

Pagami Creek Fire now over 60,000 acres, threatening Isabella

September 12 Pagami Creek Update Acres Burned Doubled in Size

BWCAW Closures and Fire RESTRICTIONS

Pagami Creek Fire MONITORING PHASE September 8th Update

Latest on Pagami Creek Fire September 7, 2011

Quick update for multiple fires burning in the BWCAW

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 6

Pagami Creek Fire Update September 4

Pagami Creek Boundary Waters Fire Update September 2

Update on Pagami Creek BWCAW Fire Near Ely

A letter to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Scout Leaders from Steve Piragis

Stuff that works: Cliff Jacobson's Susie Bug Net

Smoke in the Ely YESTERDAY August 3rd Area NOT FROM BWCAW

What is the Boundary Waters all About?

Lifting Boundary Waters Canoes for Women

Canoe Trip Photojournal, July 2011

Boundary Waters Techniques: How to Lift a Canoe and Pack

Green Fire Film about Aldo Leopold shown in Ely tomorrow night.

July 21, 2011 7:00 pm in Ely, MNVermilion Community College Theater"Green Fire" will be shown to an audience in Ely, MN. Curt Meine will be at the screening. Admission is free. The theater seats 190 people.Vermilion Community College Theater1900 East Camp StreetEly, MN 55731• Phone: 218-365-2618

The Green Fire Film Project

Smoke in the Ely Area NOT FROM BWCAW