Tofte Ranger District | Spring/Summer 2023

Mitawan Rx Prescribed Burn

Date Issued: 

Prescribed Fire Information: 

The Superior National Forest website: www.fs.usda.gov/superior

Anticipated Schedule for Prescribed Fires: 

Prescribed burning will take place between early spring and summer. Green up conditions typically arrive between the middle of May into early June. Fuel conditions will dictate the burn window for these units.

Location and Size:

The project area is approximately 6 miles northwest of the community of Isabella with prescribed burn units between Grouse and Mitawan Lake. Unit 6 is 49 acres and along the west shore of Mitiwan Lake. Unit 2 is 24 acres and located south of Grouse Lake.  This will be the first burn for Unit 6.  Prescribed burning in Unit 2 in 2016 reduced the brush but a second burn is needed to meet objectives. Prescribed burn units are in Township 60 North, Range 9 West, Sections 14 & 15

Description: 

Low to moderate intensity surface fire beneath mature red and white pines will enhance growing conditions and protect canopy trees by reducing balsam fir or ladder fuels in the understory. Multiple understory burns are required in some cases to reduce a well-established shrub understory and make room for young trees. 

Fire staff will use precise ignition methods to start the fires. Natural topographic features and constructed lines will be used to control and hold the fires. Hose-lays supplied by water pumps or other water delivery equipment will supplement the holding actions where needed. Fire crews will monitor the prescribed fire until it is declared out. 

Closure Information: 

No closure of recreation sites or roadways are anticipated with this prescribed fire. If fire managers determine that smoke from the prescribed fire is likely to impact visibility, roadway warning signs will be placed in that area.

Prescribed Fire Objectives:

Low to moderate intensity burning will be used under favorable conditions to maintain and enhance old growth red and white pine characteristics by reducing fuels and restoring the ecological process of fire to the site. Prescribed fire treatments create a patchwork or mosaic of fire-resistant forest stands on the landscape helping reduce the intensity of future wildfires.

Fig. 1. Firefighters conducting an understory burn in a pine stand 

 See the attached PDF below for additional information.