Gunflint Burning

Cary J. Griffith is the author of four books, including Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods; Opening Goliath, winner of the 2010 Minnesota Book Award; Wolves, winner of a Midwest Book Award; and Sava

• ContentsMap of the Ham Lake FireAbbreviationsPrologue: Bob Monehan’s PlaceBefore the Storm1. Stephen Posniak2. The Weather Begins to Turn3. The Burning of Windigo LodgeFire Day One4. Preparation5. Volunteers and Water6. Posniak Strikes the Match7. First Responders8. A Growing Firefight9. Witnesses10. An Interrupted Journey11. Front Lines12. Questions13. Spotting Out of ControlFire Day Two14. An Alarming Glow15. The Evacuation Moves Forward and a Burnout Goes Awry16. Managing Chaos17. The Long Afternoon18. Fire at the Tip of the Bay19. Last StandFire Day Three20. Saving the Seagull Guard Station21. In the Heart of the Heart of the Flames22. Shock23. The First Burn OutThe Big Burn Out24. Backfire25. Fire down the Line26. Ham Lake Fire, Days 6–11Aftermath27. The Investigation28. The IndictmentEpilogueSources and AcknowledgmentsIndex

Skillfully wielding his narrative talent, Cary J. Griffith leads readers into the blistering heart of the 2007 Ham Lake fire, one of the most destructive in Minnesota history.-Peter M. Leschak, author of Ghosts of the FiregroundCary J. Griffith invites his readers beneath the smoke and flames of a running crown wildfire to show us the massive coordinated response to one camper’s carelessness. His precise research and his clearheaded storytelling serve admirably to undeGunflint Burning brings the adrenaline, the falling ash, the smell of smoke, and the jarring scream of a crown fire to its detailed narrative of a wildfire in one of America’s best-loved wilderness areas. Cary J. Griffith carries the reIn Gunflint Burning, Cary J. Griffith has penned the consummate story of one of the great wildfire disasters in the history of Minnesota. Expertly reported and cleverly written, this account of the Ham Lake fire of 2007 reads like a thriller