Sprinklers Own Your Ass, Mother Nature

So it seemed a ridiculous idea at the time, but after the Sag Corridor fire in 1995 a bunch of homeowners installed forest fire sprinkler systems on their home and surrounding property. When dad first told me about the system he was installing I laughed at him. Like some stupid sprinklers would be able to stop an approaching wall of fire from consuming your home and trees. But the science of these systems is actually quite sound and the pictures I took yesterday are proof of their power.

The sprinklers create this bubble of humid air that acts as a Star Trek style shield preventing burning embers and flames from entering the protective bubble. The sprinklers become most effective if you're able to run them at least 3 hours in advance of the fire.

My dad's place survived the recent Ham Lake fire and so did many of his neighbors on Island Road. Dad was a member of the now legendary Seagull Seven who defended our road that week in early May. (Dad actually coined the term - there was another remarkable group of people on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake who were called the Saganaga Six).

Check out these pictures from Island Rd:

The heat of the fire got right next to this home.

Check out the burned area directly behind these homes that survived.

A closer view of the previous picture.