Caledonia Argus

Local forester fights fires in Alaska

Posted: 9/3/02

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

Whenever help is needed to combat a forest fire raging somewhere in the nation, Caledonia resident and MN-DNR forester Randy Mell feels an impulse to grab his gear and head straight to the blaze.

ìYou just kind of get smoke in your blood after a while,î Mell said. ìItís like climbing trees as a kid- once you do it, you want to keep doing it.î

Mell, whoís been fighting fires with the DNR since 1975, journeyed to Alaska this past August to help mitigate two colossal conflagrations. He served as a Type III Incident commander- responsible for the initial attack on the blaze- and accompanied an inter-agency fire team.

ìWe in Minnesota donít have fires in the summertime, so Alaska calls on the lake states for firefighters and resources,î Mell said. ìI put my name on a voluntary leave list and my name came up. I got the call in early August, and I took off for Alaska the next day.î

For 17 days, from August 3-19, Mell assisted efforts to quell the Colorado Creek fire and the Reindeer Lake fire. He was taken aback by their size.

ìTheir fires are monstrous,î he noted. ìThey can just be huge.î

Colorado Creek is located in southwest Alaska, roughly 400 miles northwest of Anchorage. The fire covered more than 88,000 acres and, due to the lack of roads in the region, the firefighters had to be flown in via helicopter from McGrath, Alaska.

At Colorado Creek, Mell managed a 6-man crew. When the fire had spread into a critical area- an area with manmade structures such as goldmines, pipelines, or gas mains- they were flown in, dropped off, and left in the wilderness until the fire had been suppressed.

The team spent three days at the Colorado Creek fire, performing burnouts around a goldmine. Their strategy involved setting controlled fires around the mine, which spread outward and eventually met the natural fire, which at that point burnt itself out.

At Reindeer Lake, Mell and his crew were confronted with an even mightier blaze. The fire had originated in June, and a strong northeast wind on August 1 blew the fire southwest. It had been expanding at a rapid pace since then, and when Mellís team reached the site it was raging over an area of 96,000 acres.

Mell and 41 others were assigned to Reindeer Lake. Their job was to protect private allotments from the encroaching flames. When the fire had gotten too close to the allotments, the men pumped water from lakes in an attempt to keep the fire from pressing on farther.

After several days of this, the team was successful in modifying the fireís boundaries and halting the its march. Mell and company were pleased with the job.

ìWe did our burnouts, we didnít lose any structures, and no one was hurt,î he said. ìAll in all it was a very successful trip.î

The Alaska trip was just one of many sojourns Mell has taken to combat forest fires. Since 1976, he has travelled to locales as diverse as California, Idaho, Texas, and Michigan to practice his craft, and he derives a certain thrill from each experience.

ìJust being out there, just helping people and keeping people safe- thatís kind of exciting,î he said.

Mell, who serves as the Caledonia Area Forester for the DNR, is eager to usher others into the firefighting trade. Those interested in the type of adventure Mell courted in Alaska would be well-advised to contact him.

ìWeíre always training new firefighters to meet the stateís needs, and weíve sent people from here out West,î he noted. ìWe have national contact through this office and weíre plugged into the Western fires.î

Those interested should contact the DNR Forestry Office in Caledonia at (507) 724-5261, ext. 5.

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