Isle Royale Forums

In case people haven't seen this pic. To me, not as bad as all the smoke suggested.

treeplanter wrote: ↑Tue Aug 24, 2021 7:28 pm In case people haven't seen this pic. To me, not as bad as all the smoke suggested.

I kind of thought the same thing. It must be hard to guess from the pictures. The night ones look horrible.

We got a good rain tonight. After 7.5 inches last week. Looks like the island should get some rain Friday. I don’t know if it’s enough to slow it or stop the spread but every it helps.

Kind of wonder how much of the fire burned in the crowns of the trees, and how much was in the understory, burning surface litter. Both can produce a lot of smoke. Once the fire is out, I look forward to seeing pics of the burn. I suspect trails will be closed for the remainder of the season, the Park Service will need to do trail maintenance. I hope they take pictures and post them on social media.

8/25/MODIS Imagery. Considerably less smoke than the last few days.

I hope that Lane Cove will be open in three weeks, but I'm going to try not to get my hopes up.

I read somewhere else that they are trying to hold the fire to the east of the big portage. They aggressively went and fought the fire that spread on Minong Island, protecting historic structures but also limiting spread toward the main developed area along Tobin and Rock Harbor. They are monitoring and more crews are arriving etc. If they keep the fire out on the Lookout Louise peninsula, Lane Cove and its trail should be ok. But, no telling when the area might reopen.

Carpe Diem wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:09 pm "and then hop back on Voyageur II to come around to Rock Harbor. However, now Lane Cove and Duncan all closed, so trying to figure out if we should cancel or re-plan the trip to a route exploring the Southern side by Rock Harbor."

One useful thing - with the kayaks, you can cross to Tooker's Island from the Rock Harbor docks if the campground at RH is too full for your taste. Tooker's has two shelters but also an open (grassy/hummocky) area so it's generally got room for more people, and it can't be reached by hikers! It's a 20-minute paddle across RH to get there. Good thing to know as your trip evolves!

One good rain will change things considerably. Looking at the NWS forecast for Grand Marais, a real good chance of substantial rain today through Saturday. We'll see if it happens.

Latest map of the Horne Fire.
Horne Fire Update: 8-26-21
The Horne Fire is 15% contained and is about 230 acres in size. A 20-person fire crew from Minnesota arrived on the island today to help with fire control and containment efforts. Check out the most recent maps of the Horne Fire and more fire information at

Tomorrow could be interesting, with wind gusting to 30 kts from the east https://www.windy.com/48.002/-88.841?47.093,-88.882,8
Hopefully they get some of the rain.

Yes, I hope the border lakes region gets a good soaking these next few days! BWCAW, Quetico, Isle Royale, and all of the region!

This is for Grand Marais, but the NWS forecast calls for 1-2 inches of rain on Saturday night. Hope it happens.

Water currently visible on the webcams at Tobin and Rock!

8/28 Update from the NPS:
News Release: Horne Fire Burning in Isle Royale National Park Closures and Fire Restrictions
Work continues on the approximately 200-acre Horne Fire, which ignited on August 10 near the Duncan Bay/Tobin Harbor Portage Trail on Isle Royale National Park. The cause of ignition is suspected to be lightning. The fire is now 15% contained.
The health and safety of employees and visitors is our primary concern. Additional fire management objectives are to contain the fire to the east of the Duncan Bay/Tobin Harbor Portage Trail, and to extinguish fire on Minong Island. Closed areas are signed and monitored to ensure compliance.

Fresh FB post. 245 acres 0.75 inch of rain last night.