EAGLES NEST TWP — With 23 narrow, dead-end roads and no public warning system, folks in Eagles Nest Township take fire preparedness seriously. The township has fewer than 250 year-round residents, but the population swells in the summer with seasonal cabin owners and visitors to the nearby state parks.
The township was one of the first in the state to become a “Firewise Community USA,” and has received $100,000 in grants to help implement programs. The township has held annual educational and hands-on events to help property owners make their homes and cabins safer and easier to defend from a possible wildfire. And participation in these events has been growing. This year, the township-sponsored brush drop weekends have been increased from two to three. Township residents can bring brush, balsam fire, and dead trees on Aug. 23-24, Sept. 6-7, and Sept. 20-21 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. each of these days to the gravel pit on Hwy. 169 across from Trygg Rd. Please note that no garbage or construction material will be allowed.
Over 30 residents gathered at the town hall on Saturday for a program hosted by the Eagles Nest Committee for Emergency Preparedness to learn more about how officials work cooperatively with other governmental units to have emergency plans in place. The plans rely not only on emergency responders, but also local resident road ambassadors who have volunteered to assist in evacuations if needed.
“In a real fire, the volunteer firefighters are out fighting the fire,” said Mike Ostlund, the Eagles Nest Director of Emergency Management, so other volunteers are needed.
These road ambassadors, Ostlund said, get to know all their neighbors and then can warn them in case of emergency, by phone or by going door-to-door. They also let emergency officials know which homes or cabins have been evacuated, which are empty, and which may still have someone inside.
The Eagles Nest community has donated thousands of volunteer hours to make sure their township is ready for potential emergencies, especially wildfires.
Orlyn Kringstad, who has a seasonal cabin on Co-op Point with his wife, Marit, has been a road ambassador for about seven years.
“I have 35-40 households on my road and nearby on Bear Head State Park Rd.,” he said. “My main responsibility is to keep track of what is going on, in case of wildfire risk.”
In the case of an actual emergency, ambassadors contact all the people on their road by email, phone, and text. If needed, they will go knock on doors.
“We are making sure our neighbors are properly informed,” he said. “We’ve seen nearby wildfires and blowdown events over the past few years that could happen here.”
Kringstad said he’s been quite impressed with how organized the township’s emergency management is.
“For a small community, our fire department is second to none.”
He said road ambassadors and other volunteers all get a very detailed policy book which covers what to do if an evacuation is ordered.
“We then test the system,” he said, referring to exercises held regularly since 2019.
Road ambassadors also keep track of when new residents move into a cabin and make sure they have updated information.
Ostlund went through Eagles Nest’s plan in case of wildfire, described how decisions would be made as far as evacuations, talked about systems in place for notifying residents, and how Eagles Nest would work with St. Louis County’s cellphone alert system which can automatically send messages to all cell phones in a designated area, even if they do not have a local area code.
“The biggest risk for Eagles Nest is fire,” he said, adding that blow down from high winds can also make it dangerous for those trying to evacuate.
The township started holding practice evacuation exercises back in 2019, and continued in 2021, 2022, and 2024. These also included cooperative training exercises with nearby fire departments to make sure equipment was compatible, for example, and also so the departments could practice pumping water from area lakes to fill fire trucks. This year, instead of an evacuation practice, the group sponsored this informational event at the town hall.
The event also featured Gloria Erickson, who directs the Firewise program in northeastern Minnesota, through a group called Dovetail Partners. She and Ostlund talked about the first (and easy) three things homeowners should do to reduce their wildfire risk: clean out their gutters (which can easily ignite by airborne sparks), rake out any debris underneath decks and porches, and make sure any firewood is stacked at least ten feet away from a structure. Besides preparation, residents should have a plan on what they would do in case of a fire, and also build a “go kit” that would be easy to take when leaving the house in an emergency.
Erickson noted that fire is an important and natural part of the boreal forest ecosystem.
“Fire can be a good thing,” she said, as it can cause the regeneration of pine, as well as getting rid of biting insects like ticks and mosquitos. The Firewise program, as well as the Minnesota DNR, have many resources available for homeowners on protecting their homes, visit dnr.state.mn.us/firewise or firewise.org. For more information, contact Gloria Erickson at gloria@dovetailinc.org or 218-365-0878.
Build a go kit
A “go kit” is a bag, backpack, or even a large plastic tub that contains personal information (insurance, banking, credit card copies) as well as equipment needed during an emergency away from home. Start with a hard copy of contact information that might be needed, a cellphone charger and flashlight, some simple tools, toiletries, medicines, a change of clothing, and some cash. There is lot of information available online, you can start at www.ready.gov.