US Edition
Evacuation Orders Ease as Firefighters Advance Against Wildfires
- Last year, spruce budworm damaged about 712,000 acres of forest mostly in northeastern Minnesota's Arrowhead region, marking the largest outbreak since 1961.
- The outbreak is linked to fire suppression efforts throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, which have led to a large concentration of balsam fir—a key food source for the budworm—resulting in repeated infestations that typically last between six and ten years.
- Experts highlight that dense, mature balsam fir facilitates both spruce budworm infestations and the propagation of fires due to its highly combustible foliage, drooping lower limbs, and sticky, resin-filled bark, especially under dry, windy conditions often linked to human activity.
- This year, the Nature Conservancy and its collaborators are establishing millions of new trees across northern Minnesota to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, followed by a 7 to 10-year period of site maintenance to support tree survival.
- To reduce fuel accumulation, removal of dead balsam may be beneficial, though challenges such as low market demand for the wood and heavy deer browsing complicate forest recovery and emphasize the importance of long-term management efforts.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Climate Depot
Watts Up With That?Wrong, New York Times, Climate Change Didn’t Cause Minnesota’s Wildfires
By Linnea Lueken The New York Times (NYT) published a long piece describing recent destructive wildfires in Minnesota, claiming that they were “fueled by climate change” and more likely to happen a…
Trees killed by caterpillar outbreak helped to fuel Minnesota wildfires
As wildfires spread in northeastern Minnesota earlier this month, updates from fire officials on the largest two — Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires — often included a line noting the fire was burning through “a landscape heavily impacted by the spruce budworm.” A large outbreak of the eastern spruce budworm — a caterpillar native to the region that feeds off balsam fir and white spruce trees — is defoliating the trees and stressing or killing …
Minnesota wildfires: Crews hold Brimson Complex fires perimeter, fight against wildfires continue
Firefighters say they made “steady progress" in containing the Jenkins Creek fire, while a “full suppression strategy" against the Camp House fire remains in place.
Trees killed by caterpillar outbreak helped fuel recent wildfires
BRIMSON — As wildfires spread north of Duluth earlier this month, updates from fire officials on the largest two — Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires — often included a line noting the fire was burning through “a landscape heavily impacted by the spruce budworm.” A large outbreak of the eastern spruce budworm — a caterpillar native to the region that feeds off balsam fir and white spruce trees — is defoliating the trees and stressing or killing …
How a caterpillar native to Minnesota made its forests fuel for wildfires
A native insect called the spruce budworm has killed trees across more than 2,000 square miles of northern Minnesota forests, creating dry tinder fuel in the areas burned by the Camp House and Jenkins Creek wildfires.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources lean Right
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
Ownership
To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage
