1 of 10
Courtesy USDA Forest Service / Superior National Forest
351sotl5
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba have signed a Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact, so that wildland firefighters like this one at the 2011 Pagami Creek fire in northern Minnesota may also respond to the Duck Lake Fire in Michigan.
2 of 10
Duane Roy
351sotl2
Deb and Jim Sanders' house near Michipicoten Harbour was split when the waters of the usually small and placid Brient Creek raged and tore loose its banks. Deb is optimistic that they might salvage the remaining portion of their home.
3 of 10
Paul Sundberg
351sotl1
A July 2011 storm that brought 4 inches of rain flooded a parking lot and some streets in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
4 of 10
Bob King / Duluth News Tribune
351sotl3
Sinkholes ate Duluth cars in the June 2012 flood.
5 of 10
Brian Peterson / Star Tribune
351sotl4
The St. Louis River jumped its banks in June 2012.
6 of 10
Courtesy USDA Forest Service / Superior National Forest
351sotl5
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba have signed a Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact, so that wildland firefighters like this one at the 2011 Pagami Creek fire in northern Minnesota may also respond to the Duck Lake Fire in Michigan.
7 of 10
David Kenyon / Michigan DNR
351sotl6
Helicopters doused flames and alerted crews about fire's path.
8 of 10
Courtesy Michigan DNR
351sotl7
Firefighters from three states joined forces against the Duck Lake Fire.
9 of 10
Brent Linton / The Chronicle Journal
351sotl8
Thunder Bay residents clean up after a May 2012 flood.
10 of 10
Shawn Malone
351sotl9
By summer 2012, greenery had already sprouted within the Upper Peninsula areas burned in May and damaged trees were marked for harvesting.
Floods
2012 Thunder Bay Flood, Ontario: An estimated 1,000 homes were flooded after 105 millimetres (more than 4 inches) of rain fell May 28 in just a few hours and overwhelmed a wastewater facility. Damages topped $100 million, Thunder Bay News Watch reported.
2012 Duluth Flood, Minnesota: Flooding June 19-20 caused $108.6 million in damages to public infrastructure, according to Gov. Mark Dayton. Duluth officials estimated the cost to restore the city’s parks – two-thirds of which were affected – at $20 million, Minnesota Public Radio reported. 664 properties were damaged, causing nearly $21 million in total value loss. This heavy rain also caused about $11 million of damage in Wisconsin and $7 million in Lake County, Minnesota.
2012 Wawa Flood, Ontario: Heavy rains on October 25 caused devastating flooding and road washouts, forcing many residents to evacuate. City officials estimated at least $10 million in damages to the small municipality, the CBC reported.
Fires
2012 Duck Lake Fire, Michigan: The 21,069-acre fire was started May 24 by lightning north of Newberry. The blaze destroyed 136 structures, including 47 homes or cabins.
2011 Pagami Creek Fire, Minnesota: Sparked by lightning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Aug. 18, the fire burned more than 90,000 acres.
2007 Sleeper Lake Fire, Michigan: 18,000 acres near Newberry were torched by the blaze, ignited by lightning in August.
2007 Ham Lake Fire, Minnesota: The May fire burned through 75,851 acres of Superior National Forest, including 10 year-round homes.
2006 Cavity Lake Fire, Minnesota: The wildfire decimated 32,000 acres in northern Minnesota after a July 14 lightning strike.
1999 Wawa #5 Fire, Ontario: 38,500 hectares (95,136 acres) burned over eight weeks after railway workers started the fire on May 3 at Crocker Lake.
Blowdowns
2011 St. Croix State Park & Northwest Wisconsin Blowdown: Moving northeast toward Bayfield, the July 1 blowdown whipped through 130,000 acres and spawned an EF-2 tornado near Solon Springs.
2006 Bayfield Blowdown, Wisconsin: Straightline winds on July 30 tore the roof off of a local church and destroyed the work of many artists displaying their work in shoreside booths at the Festival of Arts.
1999 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Blowdown, Minnesota: On July 4, straightline winds swept through 477,000 acres of the Boundary Waters and 11,000 hectares (27,182 acres) in Ontario.