From the Superior National Forest - September 2, 2021

NOTICE: The Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 3, Mike Almas, Incident Commander, assumed command of the Greenwood, John Ek, and Whelp fires on September 2, 2021, at 6:00 a.m. Special thanks to Eastern Area Gold Team for a smooth transition. The NRIMT will be scheduling a public meeting for the Greenwood Fire soon, so please watch for that announcement.

YESTERDAY: Moderate weather helped firefighters continue to make progress finding and cooling pockets of heat near the containment lines. Heavy equipment operators continued improvements of the Stony River Grade Road, serving as the primary eastern containment line of the fire. Shaded fuel break construction continued along Highway 1. The fire acreage for the Greenwood Fire is now at 26,068 acres with 37 percent containment. The John Ek and Whelp Fires, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, are at 1,350 acres and 50 acres, respectively, with no containment.

TODAY: Today’s operational priorities are: continue mop-up, improve containment lines, and remove hazardous and fallen trees along roads. With higher humidity and a chance of some rain in the forecast, firefighters will look for opportunities to use direct firefighting tactics along the eastern fire perimeter. Heavy equipment will continue working on the shaded fuel break to improve containment lines along Hwy 1 and the Stony River Grade Road. A total of 493 fire personnel are on the Greenwood Fire.

WEATHER/FIRE BEHAVIOR: Low winds and higher humidity will continue throughout the morning. Skies are expected to be cloudy with highs in the upper 60’s and a trace chance of showers in the afternoon. Winds will be from the southeast with peak gusts of 15 mph. Tomorrow evening, an additional chance of rain of about a tenth of an inch is predicted

SUMMARY: Started by lightning, the Greenwood Fire was detected on August 15, 2021, around 3 pm on the Laurentian Ranger District. Generally, the fire is between Greenwood Lake and the intersections of Highways 1 and 2. The communities of Ely, Babbitt, Finland, Toimi-Brimson, and areas along the North Shore are not threatened by this fire. The objective of fire management for the Greenwood Fire is full suppression using all available resources. Due to favorable weather and fire efforts, the threat to cabins, homes, and recreational sites in the area is greatly diminished. Fourteen primary structures and 57 outbuildings were destroyed on August 23.

SAFETY & EVACUATIONS: Evacuation orders in the Slate Lake area have been lifted. This includes the area from Chub Lake to the New Tomahawk Road. Properties in this area can be accessed from the New Tomahawk Road, coming from Babbitt, or Hwy 1 approaching from Ely. The Slate Lake Area is not accessible from Hwy 2. Evacuation orders are still in effect for McDougal Lake, the Highway 2 corridor, and the Mitawan Lake Road area. Lake County sheriff’s office is looking at safety considerations for possibly lifting evacuation orders in other areas. For information about entering your property, call Lake County Dispatch, 218-510-0640. You can also sign up for emergency text alerts and calls from Lake County at: https://www.co.lake.mn.us/emergency-management/.

CLOSURES:

• Hwy 2 is closed from Forest Hwy 11 to Hwy 1. Hwy 1 is closed from New Tomahawk Rd to Lankinen Rd.

• A Forest Service closure order is in place to protect public health and safety due to the Greenwood Fire. It extends across the Kawishiwi, Laurentian, and Tofte Ranger Districts. On September 1 the closure order was updated to allow use of Stony Spur Trail and a portion of Prospector Loop Trail which allows ATVs to travel safely from Babbitt to Ely. To see the full Forest order and other Forest closures, visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/superior.

• A Temporary Flight Restriction for aircraft is in place over the fire area.

AIR QUALITY: Minnesota smoke outlook: https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/Minnesota. Additional info for the rest of the state can be found athttps://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/current-air-quality.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Fire restrictions are being evaluated daily and are currently in place for the Superior National Forest and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for areas within state jurisdiction Cook and Lake Counties and northern St. Louis County. Superior National Forest: Fire Restrictions Order and our Campfire Restrictions. See our FAQ for more information. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: MN DNR Wildland Fire Information.