Friday thunderstorm a mixed blessing for firefighters

SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST— Thunderstorms are proving a decidedly mixed blessing for firefighters working to bring the rash of wildfires here under control.

During a press conference in Ely on Friday, incident meteorologist Phillip Manuel told assembled media that the fires had received anywhere from half an inch to an inch of rainfall as a thunderstorm complex moved through the area early Friday morning.

And while he said firefighters were welcoming the temporary slowdown in fire activity, he noted that hot, dry, and windy weather was expected to return by the weekend, which would likely increase fire activity once again. Meanwhile, he said as many as 13,000 lightning strikes during the Friday storm undoubtedly sparked some new points of ignition.

He noted that it was the July 6 thunderstorms, which were followed by hot and windy weather, that sparked the current rash of fires across the Superior National Forest.

Manuel said occasional thunderstorms aren’t going to be enough to bring the fire situation under control, since rainfall from those intense storms tends to fall hard and run off. He said a change in the weather pattern, the kind that could bring a period of long duration rain, would be needed to fully extinguish the fire activity. “We need rain with a name,” he said, referencing the kind of events, such as hurricanes or tropical storms, that have recently brought an end to fires in the southeastern U.S. He acknowledged such an event was unlikely in far northern Minnesota. “Odds are, you aren’t getting that kind of a system,” he said.

More likely, he said, it would be snowfall that ultimately brings this year’s fire season to a close.

Manuel noted that the Friday rain would likely reduce smoke output from the fires for a day or so, but he cautioned residents from thinking the fires are now under control. “Don’t let your guard down,” he said. “Temps are going right back up this weekend and we’re going to be right back at it.”