Incident: Ham Lake
Released: 5/19/2007
| HAM LAKE FIRE
UPDATE
| Great Basin Incident Management Team 1
May 19, 2007, 6:00 AM |
Current Status | Close coordination continues between the American suppression operation (managed by Broyles' Type 1 National Incident Management Team, or "IMT") and the Canadian IMT1 headed by Dave Manol. The two IMTs are sharing tactical resources in a concerted effort to contain the Ham Lake Fire. The Broyles team will transition control of the fire at 6:00 p.m. tonight to a Minnesota Type 2 Incident Management Team headed by Gene Mannelin. Despite the weather conditions on Friday, minimal fire activity was observed on the U.S. portion of the fire. Fire managers monitored the containment lines by air and found very little activity. Crews continued to reinforce containment lines, mop-up, and "backhaul" hose and other suppression materials. Over 90 miles of hose was used on the American side of the Ham Lake Fire. The Canadians currently have 292 personnel working on their side of the Ham Lake Fire. The situation will remain the same until at least Tuesday of next week. | |
Estimated Acreage/ containment | Acres burned: 75,851 acres. 36,443 acres in the United States; 39,408 acres in Canada. Containment is now estimated at 50% for the entire fire; the U.S. portion is estimated at 85%. Projected containment: May 20, 2007 | |
Resources on the Fire/Costs | Crews: 12 Helicopters: 4 Engines: 11 Water tenders: 3 Dozers: 1 Available upon Demand: Medium Air Tankers 3 Heavy Air tankers - 2 Personnel: 527 (Not including Canada) Costs: $8,812,258. | |
Cooperators | Cooperators include Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, Cook County, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, American Red Cross, Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Weather Service, numerous Volunteer Fire Departments and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. | |
Evacuations and Public Meetings | A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect for the Gunflint Trail beyond the Cross River Bridge roadblock. Cook County Sheriff, Mark Fulk hopes to lift the order by Tuesday, May 22. There is a public information meeting today at the Arrowhead Arts Center at 10:00 a.m. Local station WTIP 90.7 FM and 91.7 FM (WTIP.org) will broadcast the meeting. Daily updates will now be issued only once each day in the morning. | |
Closures and restrictions | As a result of decreased fire activity and successful suppression operations, the areas of Superior NF lands outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are now open to public use except the areas north and west of the Cross River roadblock on the Gunflint Trail. If the evacuation is lifted and Gunflint Trail re-opens as planned Tuesday, recreational day use will again be allowed. All BWCA entry points except Larch (#80) and Magnetic Lake (#57) will be reopened for day and overnight use when the Gunflint Trail road closure is lifted. Some campsites in the effected area will remain closed until further notice and there may be slight reductions in entry quotas. East Bearskin and Flour Lake Campgrounds are open. Reservations are now being accepted by ReserveAmerica for BWCAW trips starting May 20 into many of the BWCAW entry points. For a complete listing of sites that remain closed refer to http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/conditions/hamlake.phpake.php. Access is now open to the Gunflint and Loon Lakes areas. Public water access onto Gunflint Lake opened as of midnight last night (Friday), with air operations being moved to Seagull Lake, which remains closed to public use. Fire restrictions are in effect for Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties. Under these restrictions the following are prohibited: recreational fires (except gas and propane fired camp stoves and grills), welding, acetylene torches, or other device with open flames. As a reminder, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that cross-country ATV travel is temporarily prohibited on all state and county lands in Lake, Cook, and St. Louis Counties. Cross-country ATV travel has been and will continue to be prohibited on Superior National Forest lands. | |
Incident plans for today | Crews will continue to patrol and mopup on islands in Saganaga Lake. Several contained divisions will be monitored by air. "Backhaul" of suppression materials will occur on all areas of the fire where several divisions are removing pumps and hoses that are no longer needed to ensure structural protection. Three U.S. "hotshot" crews continue to assist the Canadians in securing fire lines on the Canadian side. The Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) team is in place and coordinating with managers in planning and implementing rehabilitation measures. | |
Fire weather | A front moved through on Friday, bringing showers. Temperatures will be cooler, with highs in the lower fifties, and humidity 50% or higher. Winds will be out of the northeast at 10-15 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph. | |
Fire and Other Information | The Cook County Assessor disclosed today that a total of 140 structures were lost on the Gunflint Trail, of which 10 were year-round residences. The Joint Information Center (JIC) at the Court House in Grand Marais will be closing tomorrow. For the time being, the JIC phone number will be maintained at the Gunflint Ranger District at (218) 387-3401. The Cook County Sheriff has established a homeowner hot line for landowners in the evacuated area; (218) 387-3093. The Ham Lake Fire Information Center number is (801) 413-0589. Fire Websites: http://www.inciweb.org/ is the primary location for information on the Ham Lake Fire. Additional fire information can be found at mnics.org. The Canadian fire information number is (888) 258-8842. |
