The mess in the BWCA (and Canada)

"Pretty soon the climate alarmists will be out blaming the Ford 150 pickup trucks for these fires. It is not the trucks - it is the way we manage our forests. Well, it is too late now for a big chunk of the BWCA. Nature has just managed it for us. And left a trail of smoke, soot, and damage in the aftermath."  

Welcome to the hellscape frequently referred to as Minnesota. And how did we get this way? Mining in the BWCA? Motorboats in the BWCA? The answer is no and no. And yet, walking outside this morning, the air is so thick with smoke that you can almost taste it. The air (if you want to call it as such), is not fit for man nor beast. And what happened? Sabotage by evil people? Careless campers? What? Probably dry lightning - and a mismanaged forest.

I love the purists in the area who defend the no-logging laws we have in the BWCA. The same goes for parts of Canada. "We don't need to manage our forests. Nature will take care of that." And nature does take care of it. By letting it burn. And with the conditions on the ground in the BWCA, this mismanaged forest floor is ripe with fuel for a rip-roaring forest fire. And that is what we have this morning.

60,000 acres of pristine forest have now been burned in the BWCA and the Superior National Forest. That is nature doing her recycling and restoration. The smaller fires in the BWCA have merged into a much bigger fire. How bad is it? One of the fire chiefs said the fire has "gotten into the ground" and we will still have remnants of this fire until the snow falls. BTW - the fire chief also said this 60,000-acre fire is still burning like crazy. And the main fire is still 0% contained at the time of this article.

Is there a lesson to be learned from this mess? Like maybe don't locate YMCA camps in this potential fire zones? Don't allow camping in an area so remote that should it catch fire, getting to safety could be a real problem? How about - just allow reasonable and sensible logging in the BWCA and Superior National Forrest. Or is it better just to lose some of that valuable timber to the vicissitudes of nature. If my vote counted (which it does not), I would choose better forest management practices.

But as we know, there is another side to this issue here. The smoke and ash. According to one of the local weather geeks, last night in Blaine, a new AQI record was set. Unbelievable 535! What can you safely do with an air quality like that? Nothing - no matter how healthy you are. The health experts are telling us to stay inside and do nothing. Thus, all week, with the heat and smoke, we lose a week of summer. Gone. And it is not just here - the smoke goes all the way to New England.

Pretty soon the climate alarmists will be out blaming the Ford 150 pickup trucks for these fires. It is not the trucks - it is the way we manage our forests. Well, it is too late now for a big chunk of the BWCA. Nature has just managed it for us. And left a trail of smoke, soot, and damage in the aftermath.