Posted 1/31/01
Cost of Carlos Edge Fire estimated at $2.5 million
By Cliff Buchan
Forest Lake Times
$2.5 million. That is the estimated cost in dollars of last fallís Carlos Edge wildfire that blackened 8500 acres west of Forest Lake.
Three months since this huge fire was brought under control, state officials are still tabulating the cost and damage to natural resource and indicate the final tally wonít be known until this fall.
As of last week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has determined the actual suppression of the fire cost $1.7 million with the tally certain to increase as more bills are paid.
And the state estimates do not include damage totals to private property. Four Linwood Township homes were lost in the blaze which broke out on a hot and windy summerlike day on Oct. 19
ìThis was the largest single fire in Minnesota since 1985,î said Olin Phillips, manager of the forest protection service for the DNRís division of forestry. The sheer magnitude of the fire in and near what has become an urban area was staggering, said Phillips, who lives in Stacy.
ìThatís a substantial fire that you donít see very often,î he said of the blaze which crowned in large stands of mature oak trees on day one of the fire.
He said the fire was easily the stateís worst since 1985 when a forest fire north of the Gunflint Trail in northeastern Minnesota crossed the U.S. border into Canada. That blaze on federal park land had suppression costs in excess of $3 million, but did not threaten private property like the Carlos Edge fire, Phillips said.
Paying the bills
In the months since the fire, DNR officials have gone about their duties of tallying up the costs and disbursing reimbursement to local agencies and fire departments involved in the fight.
To date, just under $1.7 million has been paid out, including over $900,000 to most of the 55 fire departments that deployed equipment and firefighters to battle the blaze. (See chart for details of reimbursement to local fire departments and agencies.)
Along with the cost for ground firefighters, the DNR has dispersed $160,000 for air fire suppression and expects the total to hit $200,000 when all costs are in.
According to DNR data released this week, a total of 13,813 personnel hours were logged by state crews working the fire in a variety of functions at a cost of $294,904.35. The figure does not include the numerous out-of-state crews dispatched from around the country to help contain the blaze and mop up hot spots.
There will be federal aid to help offset DNR dollars spent to cover costs.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said it will provide funds and the DNR is seeking $1.8 million in federal dollars. It could take months before the federal inter-agency process completes its review of the Minnesota request, officials said.
FEMA will cover about 70 percent of approved costs over an initial $350,000 of expense that is the stateís obligation. The fire has been classified a ìstateî fire and not a ìfederalî fire because it started on private land before spreading to the state-owned Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area in Columbus Township.
The more than $900,000 reimbursed to area fire departments as of Jan. 18 has come from the DNRís emergency or contingency fire fund. The still-growing cost quickly exceeded DNR budgeted dollars and required use of the contingency fund which will be repaid when FEMA funds arrive.
Looking back
For Phillips and the many other DNR and local officials involved in the fire fight, it was a trying time as the fire raced across the state wildlife area to private land where homes and lives were endangered.
In all, 3,024 acres of forest burned and 5,489 acres of non-forest land burned.
The fire was initially reported in the early afternoon hours of Oct. 19 when a residential brush fire in Columbus Township rekindled after not being adequately extinguished the day before.
The home owner, Tom Minerick, has been charged in Anoka County District Court with failure to properly extinguish a fire, a misdemeanor. He is scheduled for a pre-trial appearance this Friday in Anoka. Minerick had been burning brush on Oct. 18 with a fire permit.
Under state law, the home owner can be billed for fire fighting costs and the DNR will submit a bill to Minerick and his insurance company, DNR officials said last week.
ìIt was a pretty challenging situation because of the dryness and the shifting winds,î Phillips said, looking back to Oct. 19. ìThe wind shifted multiple times on us.î
The fire started in the Forest Lake Fire District but quickly spread out of control, driven by strong southwesterly winds. The wind pushed the fire to the northeast on the first day before shifting on the second day when the fire lines were pushed east and south.
Aerial mapping showed a fire line extending 33 miles at the peak of the fire.
Crews worked around the clock to contain the blaze. Scores of homes in Linwood Township were saved on the first night of the fire. I-35 between Forest Lake and Stacy was closed on two occasions on the first two days of the fire because officials feared the blaze might jump the freeway.
It took eight days before the fire was designated 100 percent contained on Oct. 27. Mop-up teams, many from national parks in the country, logged more hours on state-owned land containing hot spots, many in peat areas.
Fire footnotes
ï While 55 fire departments responded to the mutual aid call, not all will be paid. Some have not submitted reimbursement requests and others have politely refused the DNRís request for bill submittal.
ï Three Wisconsin fire departments were involved. Hudson has declined DNR reimbursement informing the DNR the work was a good training experience. Letters to fire departments in Centuria and Danbury have not been returned, according to the DNR.
ï In Minnesota, fire fighting reimbursement has been declined by Isanti, Cambridge and Lexington departments. According to the DNR, the departments said they were doing what fire departments are supposed to do and did not request state reimbursement.
ï For Phillips, the full extent of the damage to state-owned property probably wonít be known for another year or two. In particular, Phillips says the next couple of years will determine what toll the fire has taken on the old oaks that stood in the path of the fire. Weakened by the fire, the long-term life of the trees is uncertain, he said.
ìItís a question of if they recover,î Phillips said.
ï The dead of winter will soon give way to another season of growth and the public may be surprised that Carlos Avery will not resemble a wasteland in the spring, said Lloyd Knudson, manager of the wildlife area last fall.
ï Why Carlos Edge? The fire was dubbed Carlos Edge to reflect the fact the fire did not start on the wildlife area but on private land adjacent to Carlos Avery.
ï Last fallís fire also signaled a first for the state and the Minnesota National Guard which released personnel and air support to help in the fire fight. Phillips said he is optimistic the partnership will continue to grow and benefit the public in future times of crisis.