Too Dry in the Great Lakes state

[marmar]

NEWBERRY, Mich. -- A fast-moving wildfire fed by dry conditions in Michigan's Upper Peninsula continued to burn Saturday, consuming nearly 20,000 acres and prompting evacuations of homes and sections of a state park, officials said.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the blaze it's calling the Duck Lake Fire was in an area of Luce County north of Newberry that includes Lake Superior State Forest land. It was detected Wednesday after a lightning strike and intensified Thursday, scorching the tops of jack pine trees as flames hurtled northward.

The fire nearly doubled in size and reached Lake Superior's southern shore Friday, said Ed Golder, DNR spokesman. It was being compared to the Sleeper Lake Fire of 2007, which burned more than 18,000 acres in the same area.

"The whole sky is just smoke," said Beverly Holmes, Newberry village manager, who was driving on a highway east of town. "It's like a heavy fog." ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.weather.com/news/wildfire-michigan-20120526

[postulater]

1. It's healthy for a Jack Pine forest to burn periodically. The cones require heat to open up

and release the seeds.

The rare Kirtland Warbler depends on young jack pine trees for nesting. Fire suppression is detrimental to the warbler survival.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-32591--,00.html

[Botany]

2. the seeds are not ripe this time of year

n/t

[postulater]

3. That's OK.

They can be dormant ones.

"Jack pine cones are usually serotinous, that is, they remain closed long beyond the time of maturing. The cones may remain closed for 10 to 25 years until opened by the heat from fires or from direct sunlight as they lay on or close to the ground following logging. Some cones open during very dry weather, others may open on the sunny part of the crown, and still others may open during extremely low winter temperatures."

http://woodlandinfo.org/publications/FEM/FEM_085.pdf

[Botany]

6. pyrrhic cycle pines have their seeds pollenated inside the cones in spring ....

.... and in the majority of cases wait until hot and dry weather in mid to late summer or even
early fall and wait for a low level fire to clear the under brush and change the albedo of the soil
to drop seed from cones expanded by fire. This kind of fire is outside of that norm. The ecology
of that kind of forest is not geared to hot dry springs. A pine seed dropped now might very well
germinate but any extended period of drought will kill it.

[postulater]

7. Pray for rain!

Prairie chicken?

[Botany]

9. sharp tailed grouse

..... fire and pine / oak areas are important to its life cycle

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. We vacationed there a couple years ago

It's gorgeous. I hope this fire doesn't spread too far.

[jwirr]

5. Sorry to hear that - we in NE MN have had rain for almost a week not with a few dry times in between

[JNelson6563]

8. Heartbreaking!