Greenwood Fire in northeastern Minnesota continues to grow, threaten cabins
After looking and looking for a cabin getaway in Minnesota’s north woods, Mike Furtman finally found his dream spot last year on Middle McDougal Lake, in a remote corner of northeastern Minnesota.
It’s a quiet place, part of a chain of three lakes reminiscent of the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but located outside the wilderness area, with lots of wild rice and great fishing, he said.
"We just bought this cabin last September after looking for years. It was always a dream of ours,” the Duluth-based wildlife photographer said. “I'm hoping the dream doesn't go up in smoke."
Furtman is one of dozens of cabin and homeowners forced to evacuate their properties in the wake of the fast-moving Greenwood Fire, which erupted Sunday about 35 miles north of Two Harbors. As of Monday night, it was about 2,000 acres in size.
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Strong winds have pushed the fire quickly northward toward the McDougal Lake area, just south of state Highway 1 west of Isabella. The blaze has also been fueled by very low humidity and a forest that’s parched from the ongoing drought.
Lake County officials advised people to evacuate their homes Sunday evening. A mandatory evacuation went into effect Monday afternoon. Officials also closed down stretches of Minnesota Highway 1 and Lake County Highway 2.
Before those closures were in place, Furtman drove up early Monday morning to pull his beloved duck hunting boat out of the water, grab a few other important belongings and take pictures for documentation, in case his cabin is destroyed by the fire.
"Going through and taking photos and video of everything is really sobering,” Furtman said by phone from his cabin. “It’s just possessions. But you know, it hurts to think that this could be the last time you see your place. We looked for years in order to find a place we could afford that was what we wanted. It's heartbreaking to think that we could lose it."
The fire spread rapidly after it started around 3 p.m. Sunday near Greenwood Lake. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The fire’s rapid growth has been aided by an insect known as spruce budworm. The pest is native to Minnesota, but over the past several years it has fed on and killed thousands of trees in northeastern Minnesota.
Despite its name, the insect targets balsam fir, which have grown in dense thickets in the understory of the forest.
When they’re killed by the budworm, the forest can turn into a tinderbox. Firefighters call the dead balsam a "ladder fuel," because they allow the fire to climb up into the higher treetops and become a more dangerous crown fire.
“With the drought that we currently have and the dry vegetation, and then you add lots of dead and dying trees into that factor, this fire has a lot of fuel that could cause it to continue to spread quickly,” said Superior National Forest spokesperson Joanna Gilkeson.
Gilkeson said because of those factors, she anticipates the Greenwood Fire will continue to grow, especially since dry, windy conditions are expected to persist for the next couple days.
“So we’re putting as many fire resources as we can to hold this fire, dropping water from the air and working really closely with the Lake County Sheriff and the Minnesota DNR to make sure everyone potentially within the path of this fire is evacuated and safe.”
The Minnesota National Guard has contributed two Black Hawk helicopters to the effort after the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center requested the Guard’s assistance from Gov. Tim Walz.
Gilkeson said an Australian 737 is also dropping a combination of water and fire retardant in front of the blaze to try to stop its northward spread.
The Forest Service is also monitoring two other new fires that have ignited in the Boundary Waters that were started by lightning strikes on Saturday. Both fires are small and are burning in remote parts of the eastern side of the wilderness. They're both difficult to get to, so there aren't currently firefighters on the ground fighting those fires.
The Forest Service is most concerned about a fire called the Whelp Fire. It's burning near Sawbill Lake, which is a large, popular lake and entry point into the Boundary Waters north of Tofte. At last report, that fire was about five acres, but actively burning.
“So we're evaluating the situation and looking at whether or not it might impact wilderness areas and we'll need to do additional closures,” Gilkeson said. “So stay tuned.”