REGIONAL— It appears the North Country is heading back into drought status after one of the driest months of May in several years, a pattern that appears to be continuing at least for the first half of June. And that is likely to continue to raise the fire danger at a time of year when wildfires have traditionally been rare to non-existent.
As of this week, firefighters remained at work on the Horse River Fire, a lightning strike blaze first reported on May 22. It’s been a slow-moving, smoldering fire in a remote portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, normally the kind of fire that the U.S. Forest Service will allow to play its natural role.
But with the memories of the Pagami Creek Fire, which smoldered in a bog for weeks before exploding into a massive wildfire, still fairly fresh, the forest service isn’t taking any chances. According to the team currently managing the fire, a total of 23 personnel are deployed on the fire, although it remained at zero-percent containment as of Tuesday. The fire remains quite small, now estimated at about 13 acres. The fire did receive a quarter inch of rain on Monday evening, which is likely to continue to slow the fire’s growth.
A very dry May
Historically, the North Country receives about two-thirds of its annual rainfall from May to September, an average of about an inch a week. But most reporting stations in the North Country reported less than two inches for the month and some, like International Falls, saw less than an inch.
While some parts of the North Country saw forecasted rain Monday evening, most parts of the area missed out entirely, capping another week with little or no rainfall for much of the region.
The extended forecast does offer a glimmer of hope for some rain by the weekend, which could help reduce fire danger and provide a much-needed drink for what looks to be a promising blueberry crop. The 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks both point to a trend for slightly above-average precipitation.