Firefighting crews have cleaned up the grounds at the historic Lodge of Whispering Pines and Big Lake Wilderness Lodge, prepping the properties for protection just three-quarters of a mile from the Bear Trap Fire’s southern edge.
“We are so grateful for the United States Forest Service and their response and the incredible operation they brought here to secure our property and make it safe,” said Dan Houle, owner of Lodge of Whispering Pines.
“Just watching these guys work is incredible,” said Chuck Huber, who co-owns Big Lake Wilderness Lodge with Cheryl Huber. “They just went over and above.”
The Bear Trap Fire exhibited extreme fire behavior from Tuesday, July 14 through Wednesday, July 15, burning through the canopy and spotting new flames ahead of the main footprint, as per reports from the Superior National Forest.
The fire jumped from a 13,500-acre footprint on Wednesday, July 15 to nearly 34,500 acres the following day.
Houle described an image he took of the fire’s glow in the distance at midnight that Wednesday, while the Hubers had watched billows of smoke unfold up the Echo Trail in the preceding days from first the Sioux Fire, then the Bear Trap Fire.
Firefighting teams responded at the scene of the Lodge of Whispering Pines Thursday morning around 10 a.m. and immediately got to work, Houle said.
The Hubers and Houle gave full permission to the crews to do the work they needed to do at the lodges in order to prepare their properties, regardless of aesthetics. Cheryl Huber said the crew has done a wonderful job of deciding what to leave and what to clear, with many mature trees still standing.
“What’s the point of them working out here if you’re not going to let them take the brush they need to in order to save your structures?” Cheryl Huber said.
“We just take care of (the crews). We try to stay out of their way, but point them in the right direction,” Chuck Huber said.
Extensive brush-clearing has taken place at both lodges to create defensible space around structures. Houle said the team brought in heavy machinery to mulch the underbrush and cut a wide perimeter around the Lodge of Whispering Pines property.
Crews have additionally laid hoses across the Big Lake area to support sprinkler systems, establishing pumps at the lake.
The Lodge of Whispering Pines has seen spruce budworm impacts in the past few years, leaving dead spruce trees waiting as fire fuel. Houle had previously contracted with the Firewise grant program for cuts and fire preparations, but the work did not match up in scale to the firefighters’ efforts.
“When these guys came in, that was a true professional approach. I just can’t say it enough,” Houle said.
News has been good so far, with firefighters holding the fire line in place even throughout gusty winds on Monday, July 20. Per the National Interagency Fire Center, the Bear Trap Fire reached 34% containment by Tuesday evening.
“The smoke has cleared, so that makes you feel a lot safer,” Cheryl Huber said. “But the reality is that it can change in a heartbeat.”
For now the firefighting teams have completed the heavy lifting at the lodges and have stepped onto the Echo Trail to widen the road and prepare cabins along the corridor for fire protection.
The Lodge of Whispering Pines has contributed a supply of four Premier Pontoons and three Lund Alaskan boats to ferry firefighters 20 at a time to remote structures in need of fire preparation work.
“They’re going in and doing the same thing, preparing the property with sprinklers, brush-cutting defensible space, trying to save the structures,” Houle said.
Big Lake Wilderness Lodge has housed around 20 firefighters in cabins at the resort who are doing work on the Echo Trail, with room for around 35 more.
“Whatever they need, we’re here for them,” Chuck Huber said.
Both lodges have seen and initiated cancellations for guest stays. Big Lake Wilderness Lodge immediately called off all reservations for the first two weeks in July, and now has cancelled up to August 8.
“Like every other business around July and the first part of August into the end, it’s our busy, busy, busy time where everybody might be able to get over the hump and actually start making a buck,” Cheryl Huber said.
Houle said the majority of Lodge of Whispering Pines guests have booked for next year and allowed the Lodge to keep the deposit.
“Ely’s gone through a lot of fires and a lot of changes, but we have a really great resilient bunch of guests that love our area,” Houle said. “But it is a financial hit.”
Cheryl Huber said Big Lake Lodge has crossed their fingers for income from September reservations, while Houle said the Lodge of Whispering Pines may look toward winter business for sled dog trips and other possibilities.
“We just hope that everyone else is getting the tremendous support that we’ve been getting here, and that everybody’s safe,” Houle said.
