Living with Fire in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region
Working together to protect people and forests.
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Introduction
With this StoryMap, we hope to share the knowledge of how prescribed fire serves as a vital tool in restoring and promoting resilient forests while simultaneously protecting people and their homes.
If you own property in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota, then we are calling on you.
We need you to work together with the U.S. Forest Service, MN Department of Natural Resources, our tribal partners, and others to protect our forests, your homes and cabins, and maybe even your lives. Join us as we explore fire history in Minnesota, fire as a tool, and opportunities for the re-introduction of fire on the landscape in the Arrowhead region. Read on to explore maps, audio clips, photographs, and additional resources...
People and Forests: Shaped by Fire
Fuel, oxygen, and heat. That’s all that's required to have fire. Consequently, fire has existed on earth for hundreds of millions of years, and fires would have occurred long before humans even walked the earth.
Under the right circumstances, at the right place and time, a wildfire can be beneficial for the environment...
On the other hand...
Under the wrong circumstances, wildfires can result in the loss of homes and lives. So, it’s no surprise that we, as humans, are not always accepting of fire occurring on the landscape. Our perceptions of fire have been shaped by these losses and damages, and rightfully so.
The concept of intentionally starting a fire in a forest might be strange and counterintuitive. After all, even despite careful planning, igniting any sort of fire poses inherent risk to human structures and lives.
Partially owing to these inherent and perceived risks, fire has been increasingly suppressed by humans over time. Fire suppression in Minnesota began during European settlement. At this time, the land was heavily converted from forest to agriculture and pasture, which wouldn't burn as intensely as forests, and roads, which wouldn't burn at all. Roads also acted as barriers, which further reduced the spread of fires.
The Arrowhead Region
Explore Wildfire Risk Near You
The map to the right illustrates wildfire likelihood. Populated areas in Ely have, on average, greater wildfire likelihood than 94% of communities in Minnesota.
Click on the map to enter full screen and interact. Be sure to check out the legend in the bottom left. When you're done, select the double arrow in the top right corner to exit full screen and return to the story.
The map to the left illustrates the risk to homes, or other potential structures.
Click on the map to enter full screen and interact. Be sure to check out the legend in the bottom left. When you're done, select the double arrow in the top right corner to exit full screen and return to the story.
Fire-Dependent Ecosystems
Fire-dependent ecosystems, which includes fire-dependent forests such as boreal forests, “are those where fire is essential and the plant communities have evolved adaptations to respond positively to fire and to facilitate fire's spread." They are often called fire-adapted or fire maintained ecosystems.
These are systems where fire is part of the normal condition.
What happens when we suppress fire in these fire-dependent ecosystems?
Fire is required to maintain the health and diversity of fire-dependent ecosystems. Without fire, fuels accumulate in the forest which increases the fire risk - whether that fire is lightning caused, or caused by human influence.
Burntside Lake: A Case Study
The Forest Service had not been implementing prescribed burns in the West Zone of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota for some time and they were interested in a new project. They had only recently recovered from the Pagami Creek Wildfire , which had reaffirmed for managers that fires want to burn big in this region.
Given the proximity to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (hereafter Wilderness) and the potential to protect communities, Timo Rova, (now retired, but at the time was Fire Management Officer or FMO), identified an area near Burntside Lake as a great candidate to focus on while they worked to rebuild the prescribed burning program.
While Timo is originally from Minnesota, he spent over two decades working out West for the Forest Service.
We visited Burnstide Lake with Timo to hear his story about fire suppression and the Arrowhead Region. When Timo reminisces on his time on Burntside Lake, he recalls going with his family to the other side of the lake to pick blueberries and to go hunting.
"I grew up on this lake, coming to this lake, my family's from here. I would go with my Grandpa, and my dad and my mom, across the lake over to this side to go blueberry picking, to go hunting..." -Timo
Fast forward two plus decades later...
"... and there weren’t berries to pick anymore, there wasn’t much game to shoot, it was hard to walk through the woods because it was just thick and there was tons of blow down and deadfall and it didn’t have the big openings and the nice rocky ridges like I remembered as a kid." - Timo
"I had a memory, and when I came back it was so different. Maybe if you live here and it happened slowly, you don’t realize it’s changed that much.” - Timo
How has fire suppression impacted the landscape?
The changes Timo observed when he returned to the Arrowhead region were primarily a result of fire suppression. These included:
Click the arrow on the right of the image below to view additional slides (>)
One of the most evident changes is the increase in balsam fir throughout the landscape. Historically, balsam fir would not have occurred in such high densities because the species is not fire-adapted. Consequently, balsam fir densities would have been reduced with each fire.
As evidence to this change, most of the balsam firs we see in forests in this region are 10 to 30 years old, which means they were not present on the landscape historically. The increase in balsam fir density is a result of fire suppression.
Increases in balsam fir densities can contribute to increased severity of spruce budworm outbreaks. Increased spruce budworm outbreaks leads to increases in standing dead balsam fir, which results in further increased wildfire risk.
The Big Problem
We know we need to maintain fire in these fire-dependent ecosystems, but how do we do so safely, without endangering structures and private land?
The Solution
Fuel Treatments in the Arrowhead Region
In an effort to safely reintroduce fire, the Forest Service began implementing fuel treatments in the Wilderness. The goal of these treatments is to move the system back towards a natural fire-dependent state, and to ensure public safety.
The fuel treatments accomplish this by reducing fuel loads and creating buffers prior to implementing prescribed fire.
Explore Fuel Treatment Efforts Near You
Please note this map contains a lot of data and may load slowly. If the map doesn't load, you can further explore fuel treatments here .
Remember that you can use the +/- in the bottom right to zoom in and out.
What do the treatments look like?
The fuel treatments at Burntside Lake include two stages:
- Removal of balsam fir
- Prescribed burn
1. Balsam fir removal
Click the arrow on the right of the image below to view additional slides (>)
Over time, the downed balsam fir will be compacted by snow and the needles will fall off, which will reduce the heat and speed of a prescribed fire. Alternatively, the balsam fir could be burned when it's fairly wet.
2. Prescribed burn
Before a prescribed fire is lit, a burn plan is written for the specific site. Burn plans prescribe the best conditions for the fire, that is the conditions under which the fire will safely achieve the desired outcomes. Burn plans consider:
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Wind
- Vegetation moisture levels
- Smoke dispersal
The burn plan outlines what will happen before, during, and after the prescribed burn. The plan includes a Go/No-Go Checklist. ALL conditions of a prescribed burn plan must be met prior to moving forward.
Results of Fuel Treatments
Controlled fuel loads
With the balsam fir cut down, the fuel load is still high, but is further from the forest canopy. This means:
- decreased risk of canopy fires
- the risk of spotting, or unwanted spread, is greatly reduced
- fire will travel slower than it would in an untreated area
The decreased density of balsam fir means prescribed fire can be implemented every 15 to 25 years, thus keeping the system fire-dependent and reducing the risk of large stands of dying balsams. Every burn kills more and more of the balsam seed, and that prevents it from coming right back - something that cannot be achieved by harvest alone.
Buffers between the Wilderness and private land
In addition to controlling fuel loads, these fuel treatments create buffers between the wilderness and structures - people's homes, cabins, camps. If, or when, a fire starts in the Wilderness, the buffers make spillover onto private land less likely.
Buffers will serve to keep Wilderness fires contained, and this will keep people safe.
"It's for public safety. So we can manage fires in the Wilderness in the future and get that back more in a natural functioning ecosystem." - Timo
Restoration of ecological integrity
"This is why we need fire. The system developed and adapted in the presence of fire, and it requires fire to be maintained." -Timo
We Have to Work Together
Join the collaborative and help the Forest Service help you!
The Wilderness is 1,090,000 acres. While the Forest Service and other agencies are working to do what they can to ensure public safety and contain wildfires in the Wilderness, they can't do it alone. They need you assess and manage the fuels on your land too.
How can you help?
Anything that can burn will act as fuel during a fire. Branches, pine needles, leaves, trees, your home. Take time to assess fuels on your property and work to mitigate risks and reduce hazards near your home.
“ Fire will happen here, but we can decide and take action to learn how to live with fire.” -Gloria Erickson, Dovetail Partners
Finally, talk to your neighbors! Share this Story Map with them, discuss your plan. Work together.
For more information and tips on preparing your land and home for fire, check out these resources:
MN Dept of Natural Resources: Firewise in Minnesota
North Carolina State eFIRE - Check out all of the details that go into planning, conducting, and evaluating a prescribed burn.
About the Author:
Kaitlyn Wilson is the Education Program Specialist for the Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative at the Cloquet Forestry Center .
Funding and Support:
Funding for this project was generously provided by the U.S. Forest Service.
Dovetail Partners seeks to engage you in thoughtful, collaborative processes to can create an inspiring path forward and empower you to lead with confidence.