9/13/11 3:45 pm – The Pagami Lake fire is now over 60,000 acres. Therefore, all entry points in the BWCAW south of Moose Lake and east to the Gunflint Trail have been closed with these exceptions: Brule Lake (only), Seagull Lake (only), Saganaga (only), Granite river, and the Vento unit. For the entry points that remain open, campers must remain on those lakes, with no overnight camping elsewhere. Area campgrounds have been closed and evacuated as well. Campers already in the BWCAW are being notified and told to exit. For now, the Tofte and Gunflint districts are still fire-free. The closures and evacuations in these areas are purely precautionary. Public safety is the Forest Service’s main concern. In order to concentrate on the fire itself, they need to limit public access to the wilderness.
Here at Sawbill we have spent the day preparing for whatever may come. Our sprinkler system is doing its job, and even received a bit of a water power upgrade today when the original installer, Michael Valentini, showed up. Currently we even have blue, smoke free skies. We have been overwhelmed all day by the outpouring of support from our customers and the community. Thanks to everyone (you know who you are) who has offered us lodging, food, transportation, storage, moral support and more. We are truly touched.

9/13/11 – 7:40 am. We are still here, but the news is not very good this morning. The Pagami Creek fire made a 15 mile run yesterday, mostly to the north and east. The Forest Service pilot this morning is reporting that the fire reached the south shore of Polly Lake and some canoeists who paddled from Polly to Kawishiwi Lake reported fire on both sides of the route. We haven’t heard an official report of the total size of the fire, but it’s likely that the fire is over 20,000 acres now, which makes it one of the largest fires in Minnesota’s history.
The Forest Service is evacuating all the canoe parties that are west of Sawbill today. The entry points to the east of us, Baker Lake, Homer Lake and Brule Lake remain open, but the smoke will likely be bad today with west winds predicted. Public safety is their top concern and they are trying to stay at least 24 hours ahead of the fire with evacuations. If you are holding a wilderness entry permit for the Kawishiwi Lake, Hog Creek or Sawbill entry points, the Forest Service will be calling you to help you relocate to other entry points.
The good news is that we received almost .2″ of rain yesterday and there are showers predicted for today. The temperature has dropped dramatically and frost is predicted for tonight. Although strong westerly winds are predicted for today, which will move the fire toward us, the winds are supposed to switch to northwesterly later today which should move the fire away from us.
Right here at Sawbill we have a very effective outdoor sprinkler system, so we are relatively confident that our buildings will survive even if the fire sweeps through here. While this is all very scary and upsetting, wildfire is inevitable in this ecosystem. It really isn’t a matter of if there will be a fire, it’s just a matter of when.
We’ll post regular updates here. Keep us in your thoughts. – Bill

9/12/11- The Pagami Lake fire, which began burning mid-August, is now having a direct impact on the Sawbill area. While the fire itself is still more than 20 miles west of Sawbill Lake, we have been seeing an increasingly impressive smoke cloud in the past few days, and have noticed falling ash as well as a distinct campfire smell in the air.

9/10/11-On an otherwise bluebird day, the smoke cloud made for a nice sunset
On 9/11/11 the fire was estimated to cover around 4,000 acres. By this morning, the fire was close to 11,000 acres and growing. It is estimated that by the end of today the fire will cover around 20,000 acres. As a precaution the Sawbill, Kawishiwi, and Hog Creek entry points have been closed temporarily. Canoeists on the Lady Chain and farther west have been evacuated, as well as campers in the Sawbill campground. Also as a precautionary measure, permits for these lakes and reservations for the campground have been canceled until Saturday, and campers will not be allowed entry unless conditions change. As we receive new information, we will continue to post updates on our newsletter.

This was the cloud of smoke as seen from the landing on Sawbill Lake mid-afternoon 9/12/11
Currently Sawbill Lake and the surrounding routes are not in imminent danger. The weather forecast calls for rain and cooler temperatures, which will hopefully slow down the progress of the fire as well. For continuing updates and more specific information about entry point closures, fire restrictions, and other details about the fire, please visit this website: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2534/.

Visibility was low as the smoke settled in late afternoon

While it looked ominous for an hour or so, eventually the smoke cleared

9/11/11- We normally eat well here at Sawbill, but lately we had a very special treat. While “surf ‘n’ turf” in the north woods may lead you to envision walleye and venison, the crew recently sunk their teeth into a dinner of Maine lobster and grass-fed steak. The little crustaceans were sent live from Maine along with some clams and chowder mixes, all courtesy of an old friend of Cindy’s, Mr. Paul Dietl. Although we aren’t particularly well versed in the cooking methods for these little critters, chef Andy took on the challenge and had great success. I think it’s safe to say everyone came away from the table full and happy. Thanks Paul! -Liz

Andy holds the liveliest lobster of the bunch

The lobsters were boiled to ruby red perfection

9/9/2011 – We had some big excitement recently when three heavy hauler trucks got lost and ended up here at the end of the Sawbill Trail. They were hauling dormitory units from the oil sands of Manitoba to the oil fields of North Dakota. They had to take to the back roads because they were too tall to fit under the railroad overpasses at Taconite Harbor.
Two of the rigs were too big to turn around here at Sawbill, so they laboriously hooked and unhooked the tractors to gradually work all three of them around the corners. Although it took over three hours, the drivers were very careful and accommodating. They were careful to do no damage and apologized graciously when they were through. The mistake that landed them here was not their mistake, but they handled the situation with great professionalism. – Bill

Three very large, very lost trucks.

Inching around the corner.

Heavy hauling truck vs Sawbill golf cart.
For more details and other news, you can listen to this week’s edition of Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.

9/5/11 – The Labor Day weekend is winding down for another year. It brought us many old friends, a few new friends, our first real fall weather and some excellent live acoustic music. Although the passing of Labor Day represents the end of the busy season, a lot of time for fabulous canoeing remains. We have the fall colors, bird migrations, crisp nights and lightly traveled canoe routes to look forward to. If you can possibly get away for a canoe trip, now is the time to do it – permits are widely available and just look at this forecast for the next week. – Bill

BWCA Wilderness weather forecast for September 5th – 9th. The extended forecast shows more of the same.

9/1/11 – Today is Sawbill Outfitters founder Mary Alice Hansen’s birthday! I won’t say how old she is, but if you know how many keys a piano has… Her email is mah@boreal.org if you want to send her a greeting. – Bill

Happy Birthday Mary Alice.

8/28/11 – We recently received this lovely note with fun pictures:
Sawbill crew,
Just thought I would send a note to express our thanks for another great trip, and share some fun pics from this July. I have been camping at the Sawbill campground each summer since the early 90’s. The staff has always been courteous and extremely helpful when issues arose. Fortunately, this year was an uneventful trip, with great weather, super fishing, and exciting wildlife sightings. We had a doe that was a regular visitor to our campsite, and seemed quite unafraid, letting me approach to within 5 feet without running off. She seemed quite interested in my fishing poles and came up to inspect them daily, but never knocked them over, even when playing chase with 2 fawns through our campsite. We also had a long and close encounter with a small bear on the Sawbill trail. As medical issues prevent me from taking trips into the Boundry Waters anymore, camping at Sawbill and doing day trips more than gets me my fix each year. Thanks to your friendly and helpful staff for helping make it another memorable trip, and see you next year!
Tim Martinson and Kristin Kim
Racine, WI

“If only I had thumbs.”

Take time to smell the flowers.

8/25/11 – Last week, former crew member and good friend Pat Eidsmo took at short trip out of our area with his girlfriend Jessica Olmanson. After a couple of days, the pair returned from Brule Lake engaged! Pat and Jessica met working in the Writing Studies office at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where they attended school and now work. Pat proposed to her on the island in the center of the lake, while watching the sunset last Friday evening.

Congratulations Pat and Jessica!

8/17/11 – A few days ago crew members, Luke and Liz, returned from an eight day trip along the border. While out they had beautiful weather, picked lots of berries, witnessed frogs hopping around everywhere, and took some great pictures. – Jessica

Nothing but blue skies and fluffy clouds while Luke soaks up the sun.

Liz showing off handfuls of ripe raspberries.

One of the nights they witnessed this breathtaking sunset.