The Greenwood Fire started last Sunday and grew rapidly, breaching the 9,000-acre mark yesterday while making a four-mile run as it jumped Lake Co. Rd. 2. Unfortunately, about 1.5 miles of the two-mile, iconic "Spruce Grouse Alley" was affected. For the first half mile going north from the Sand River crossing, the fire appears to have burned just the east side of the highway. This is based on a map on the Superior National Forest Facebook page; the area is closed to the public. For the next mile or so the map shows the fire having burned both sides of the highway. The map shows the fire along the entire length of Hwy 2 as "intense." There is the distinct possibility that the fire has reset the successional clock back to a forest dominated by seedlings and saplings. Good for some birds, not so much for spruce grouse.
I won't be able to respond to comments, because for some reason unknown to me, I stopped receiving automatic updates on the 16th. Steve Wilson Isabella ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
