August 2005. Thanks to the about 50 emergency responders who put out the fire on Burntside's Ripple Island which started on Sunday, July 23, 2005! Crews from Ely and Morse/Fall Lake Fire Departments and the US Forest Service, Kawishiwi and Chippewa districts, worked on the ground. Two DNR tanker planes, CL215's, flew from Hibbing and dropped 1,400-gallon loads of water on the fire. Crew in DNR (Cessna 310) and USFS (De Havilland Beaver) planes directed traffic from above. A tent platform on Ripple Island was destroyed, but its cabins were saved. The fire burned deep, and crews were still working the following Tuesday and Wednesday to contain flare-ups.

In the photo above, campers watch the fire from shore. Responders encourage boaters to stay away from the action near the fire. See more photos.

If anyone would like to send a note of thanks to the fire crews who saved the island, and maybe neighboring ones as well, here are the addresses.

Ely Fire Department
Morse/Fall Lake Fire Departments
Ely, MN 55731

USFS, Kawishiwi Ranger District
118 S. 4th Ave. E.
Ely, MN 55731

Department of Natural Resources
1201 East Highway 2
Grand Rapids, MN 55744