Just a quick update - the Ham Lake fire burns on, and the evacuation is still in effect north of County Road 85 on the Gunflint Trail. That includes all the area around Gunflint Lake.
While we were delighted to see the Gecas's in church today, we were sorry that the reason they were in town and not busy with the fishing opener was because they'd been evacuated and their home and livelihood is in very real danger from the fires. We were also sorry to hear that so many of the cabins where our summer guests vacation have been destroyed by the fires. How appropriate that today's readings focused on prayer! Our prayers are certainly with the Gecas's, the Preuss's, and all who've lost property and/or had to leave their homes due to the fire.
Today was another high-danger day as winds were expected to rise and blow the fire towards the homes and businesses on the south shore of Gunflint Lake. We haven't heard yet what happened on the fire today, but the good news is that the winds here near the Lake stayed mild all day. I hope they were as mild up on the Gunflint Trail.
To see lots of fire photos and pictures of the devastation, click here, and please remember our people in your prayers!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Potluck Dinner ends in Flames
On Sunday, May 6, Life in Christ held a potluck dinner after the morning church services. Why? Just because! As usual there was plenty of wonderful food for everyone, but the morning took an interesting twist when people suddenly started coming in and moving tables around.
Soon we found out why they were here - the sheriff had ordered a mandatory evacuation on the Gunflint Trail due to the Ham Lake fire (see http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=41732§ion=homepage&freebie_check&CFID=33676342&CFTOKEN=40918805&jsessionid=8830a78f60e1654ed4e4 for the latest on this fire) and the Community Center, our meeting place, was needed as a check-in point for evacuees.
Needless to say we finished our dinner and cleaned up as quickly as we could. Meanwhile, our prayers go out to the victims of this fire, which had already destroyed over 40 structures and one business as of this morning, and grew rapidly today.
If you're interested in a first-hand report on the fire, the best I've found is the Boundary Waters Blog. Please keep our members and neighbors in your prayers as we deal with fires, evacuations, and lost properties. We are thankful that so far there has been no loss of life.
Soon we found out why they were here - the sheriff had ordered a mandatory evacuation on the Gunflint Trail due to the Ham Lake fire (see http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=41732§ion=homepage&freebie_check&CFID=33676342&CFTOKEN=40918805&jsessionid=8830a78f60e1654ed4e4 for the latest on this fire) and the Community Center, our meeting place, was needed as a check-in point for evacuees.
Needless to say we finished our dinner and cleaned up as quickly as we could. Meanwhile, our prayers go out to the victims of this fire, which had already destroyed over 40 structures and one business as of this morning, and grew rapidly today.
If you're interested in a first-hand report on the fire, the best I've found is the Boundary Waters Blog. Please keep our members and neighbors in your prayers as we deal with fires, evacuations, and lost properties. We are thankful that so far there has been no loss of life.
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