From Superior National Forest - September 5, 2021

GREENWOOD FIRE QUICK FACTS: ACRES: 26,089 CONTAINMENT: 37% PERSONNEL: 428

SUMMARY: Started by lightning, the Greenwood Fire was detected on August 15, 2021, about 3:00 p.m. on the Laurentian Ranger District. The fire started approximately ten miles southwest of Isabella. Thanks to favorable weather and fire efforts, the threat to cabins, homes, and recreational sites in the area is greatly diminished. Fire crews continue to secure the fire perimeter to ensure the safety of residents when they return to their homes and the sheriff will lift evacuations as soon as it is safe to do so. Fourteen primary structures and 57 outbuildings were destroyed on August 23. The objective of fire management for the Greenwood Fire is full suppression using all available resources.

YESTERDAY: Crews continued cooling hot spots near the line to secure the western and northern perimeter of the fire. In some areas, they were able to do fuels mitigation work and began hauling out fire hose and other equipment, as the threat to structures was reduced. In the south and east, fire personnel used tracked equipment to build direct line along the uncontained edge. Heavy equipment worked south down Stony Grade Road, further improving the contingency line.

TODAY: Fire crews will patrol and mop up along the Highway 1 and 2 corridors. Hand crews and tracked equipment will continue direct line construction along the north and east perimeters of the fire. The Structure Group will continue the structure assessment work along the Highway 1 corridor.

WEATHER/FIRE BEHAVIOR: A series of cold fronts are expected to move into the region with slight chances for showers or storms as well as breezy and gusty winds at times. Temperatures should in the upper 60’s to around 70 degrees with afternoon RH’s in the mid 40 to around 50% range as well.

SAFETY & EVACUATIONS: The Lake County Sheriff reopened the closed and evacuated section of Hwy 2 (between Forest Hwy 11 and Hwy 1) to home and cabin owners in the Greenwood Lake, Sand Lake and Dunka River Road areas. Each property owner has been given 2 checkpoint passes that need to be shown each time they enter Hwy 2 through one of the check-points (either at the intersection of Forest Hwy 11 and Hwy 2 on the south end or Hwy 1 and Hwy 2 on the north end). Passes are currently limited to property owners and their immediate families to limit traffic for fire crew safety. For information about entering your property, call Lake County Dispatch, 218-510-0640. You may also sign up for emergency text alerts and calls from Lake County at https://www.co.lake.mn.us/emergency-management/.

CLOSURES:

• 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 information for the rest of the state can be found at https://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.