Wildfire

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It took me a moment to figure out what this picture is. It's a satellite shot of the plume of smoke from the 30,000 acre fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. This blaze was not unexpected after the 1999 blowdown that turned 600 square miles of forest into firewood.

I know the occasional fire is needed for the long-term health of a forest, but it seems that the BWCA is so close to the hearts of everyone I know. Even my sister's boyfriend, who has been to Minnesota only once before, is up fighting the fire.

(via MetaFilter)