9/21/11 – We received another .6″ of rain yesterday and there is more rain forecast for today. All the rain has put the fire down to the point that it would take some extraordinary warm, dry and windy weather to get it going again. Meanwhile, the 740+ firefighters, along with numerous aircraft, are making good progress on actually containing the fire.
The first canoeists are heading out of Sawbill this morning, now that the Sawbill Lake entry point and all the entry points east of Sawbill have reopened. A total fire ban remains in place, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it lifted soon, especially for the campgrounds outside the wilderness.
Here are four pictures that were taken on Polly Lake a week ago Monday. Photographer Hans Martin posted these on Facebook. This was the peak of the most extreme fire behavior in recorded history for the Midwest. The pictures show what caused the burning that is pictured from the air in the post below. All four pictures are taken on Polly Lake looking to the south. If the wind hadn’t switched, this fire column would have arrived at Sawbill a little over an hour after these pictures were taken. We are very, very lucky. – Bill
Photo by Hans Martin taken on 9/12/2011 at Polly Lake.
Photo by Hans Martin taken on 9/12/2011 at Polly Lake.
Photo by Hans Martin taken on 9/12/2011 at Polly Lake.
Photo by Hans Martin taken on 9/12/2011 at Polly Lake.