You may have heard about the forest fire near Ely, Minnesota in the BWCA in the fall of 2012, the Pagami Creek Fire. The Forest Service initially opted to let the fire burn naturally, since the forest does need to burn once in a while, but then the fire grew a bit faster than anticipated and lasted for quite a few weeks. However, the fire was contained and the burned area is only a small portion of the BWCA, as you can see on the map below.
[The burned area is already overgrown.]
Also included are some interesting shots of the fire, of us visiting the fire site with the Forest Service, and a shot of the fire from outer space, as sent by our friend, Mike Fossum, Commander of the International Space Station. Click an image for an enlargement and slideshow.
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- Map showing the area affected by fire
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- A smoke plume rises to 40,000 feet above NCCO
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- Aerial photo show the patchwork of fire lines
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- John is invited by USFS to see fire damage
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- Only 1/2 mile away, a pristine campsite
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- A picture of the fire and plume from space
