Post #3857905
2026-07-16 11:41 UTC
Boundary Waters wildfires could smolder until snow falls
Fueled by dry fir and spruce trees, the larger forest fires are too intense for firefighters to extinguish without help from the weather.
By Dave Orrick and Bob Timmons
The Minnesota Star Tribune
“It’s way beyond the ability of firefighting crews to suppress,” said Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology and an expert on the fire ecology of northern Minnesota forests.
https://www.startribune.com/boundary-waters-wildfires/601867991?utm_source=gift
#Minnesota #conifers #BWCA #wildfires
Replies (1)
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@rationaldoge@hachyderm.io 2026-07-16 11:42
Frelich said the swaths of woods that are burning are mostly evergreen, specifically fir and spruce that form the backbone of the boreal forest. They’ve been baked to a tinder by the dry heat wave, creating “just the right or just the wrong configuration, depending on your point of view,” he said. “Boreal conifer fuel types are among the most flammable in the world — and among the most intense when they burn," he said in a phone interview Tuesday. “So many tons of combustible fuel per acre ... a lot of boreal forest fires simply can’t be suppressed.” The only thing that could put out the fires quickly would be a deluge. — from the article #FireEcology #Minnesota #BWCA