Ely Fights the 4 Letter Word Again- FIRE!
The gods of fire have been good to the Gunflint Trail so far this year. We’re hoping to keep them happy with us so we don’t have any forest fires on the Gunflint Trail side of the BWCA. The entire Boundary Waters is open and there are currently no fire bans in place. There are however two small fires burning on the Ely side one on the Canadian side of Basswood Lake and the other near Cummings Lake.
The fires are being attacked by the USFS due to the dry conditions and the new protocol implemented earlier this year. Where the USFS used to have a "Let it Burn" policy they are now attacking immediately to avoid costly fires like last year’s Pagami in the BWCA.
A severe thunderstorm whipped through the area but in most areas of the forest it did not leave much moisture. It did produce lightning which could in fact result in more fires in the forest. Luckily the forecast calls for much cooler temperatures the next ten days with highs only into the 70’s instead of 80’s like we’ve had this past week.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed for no more fires and quick containment of the fires currently burning.