Minnesota Fire Taxes Air Assets | Aviation International News

Minnesota Fire Taxes Air Assets

One of the largest and longest-lasting wildfires in the Midwest significantly taxed available helicopter assets, destroyed nearly

By Mark Huber • Contributor

December 3, 2011

One of the largest and longest-lasting wildfires in the Midwest significantly taxed available helicopter assets, destroyed nearly 100,000 acres and sent smoke plumes into the sky that could be detected by satellites and smelled as far as 450 miles away in Chicago. Across Lake Superior, parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula were enveloped in dense smoke for days.

The Pagami Creek fire began in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area on August 18 after a lightning strike. The half-acre fire grew to 130 acres in the remote, one-million-acre recreational area near Ely, Minn., before firefighters were called in to manage it. On September 5, a controlled burn, intentionally ignited by helicopters dropping jellied gasoline, increased the fire’s size to 2,000 acres. This burn-out was supposed to make the fire easier to manage.

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