>> Eric: JOINING US NOW WITH MORE ON THE WILDFIRE SITUATION, MIKE WARNKE.

HE'S A WILDFIRE ADMIN SUPERVISOR WITH THE FORESTRY DIVISION OF THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

HERE TOO, HEAD OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA'S DEPARTMENT OF SOIL, WATER, AND CLIMATE, BRENT WILLIAMS.

WELL, IKE, WHAT'S THE D.N.R.

'S RESPONSIBILITY IN THAT THIS IS A LARGELY FEDERAL LAND, CORRECT >> IT IS BY AND LARGE, BUT THE WHERE THE FIRES ARE BURNING BUT THE WAY WE WORK IN MINNESOTA IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.

NO ONE WANTS TO SEE A LINE STOP SOMETHING SO WE HAVE A COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP, WHOEVER'S CLOSEST IS GOING TO WORK ON THESE FIRES INITIALLY.

>> Eric: HOW COMPLICATED IS THE COORDINATION >> IT'S AS COMPLICATED WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO DO IT NOW WITH YEARS AND YEARS OF PRACTICE AND COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND TRAINING TOGETHER THAT COORDINATION IS MUCH MORE SEAMLESS.

>> Cathy: WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT HOW THIS ALL BEGAN.

JOE AND ERIC ND I WERE TALKING ABOUT THE LIGHTNING STRIKES THAT OCCURRED ARLIER THAT KIND OF STARTED THE BALL ROLLING HERE.

AND VERY DRY CONDITIONS UP THERE.

AS A CLIMATOLOGIST, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT.

>> YEAH, CERTAINLY HAS BEEN WARM AS WE ALL KNOW.

AND AS WINDS GO, YOU DRY OUT YOUR SOIL MOISTURE AND AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE LAST SEGMENT IF YOU HAVE STANDING DEAD PLANT MATERIAL, IT'S ALL THE RIGHT CONDITIONS TO BURN.

>> Cathy: I'M WONDERING TOO HERE, BRENT, BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME SEVERE STORMS SWEPT ACROSS THAT PART OF THE REGION EARLY THIS MORNING, A LOT OF LIGHTNING OUT OF THOSE STORMS.

I WONDER IF WE'LL KNOW WHETHER THERE WILL BE MORE FIRES TO START BECAUSE OF THOSE STORMS THAT CAME THROUGH THIS MORNING.

>> YEAH, I THINK TIME WILL TELL.

THE, AS LONG AS WE HAVE THIS EXTENDED WARM PERIOD AND OVERALL DRYER CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES THE RAIN IS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP THINGS.

>> Eric: WHAT STRIKES YOU ABOUT THESE RECENT IMMEDIATE FIRES HERE THAT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT FROM PAST EPISODES?

>> WHAT'S STRIKING IS THE NUMBER THAT ARE ON THE LANDSCAPE AT ONE TIME.

THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE'VE EXPERIENCED IN A VERY, VERY LONG TIME, IS JUST THE SHEER NUMBER AND VOLUME SPREAD OVER A DISTANCE FROM SAY, WEST TO EAST OF NEARLY 100.

THAT'S THE UNUSUAL THING.

UNCOMMON TO HAVE A FIRE FROM A LIGHTNING STORM.

TO HAVE 20-SOME INITIATE FROM LIGHTNING EVENTS IS REALLY UNCOMMON.

>> Cathy: SPRUCE BUDWORM WAS MENTIONED, THAT BUG THAT REALLY HAS KILLED A LOT, ACRES AND ACRES OF TREES.

HOW -- CAN THE D.N.R.

DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF TRY TO CLEAR SOME OF THAT OUT TO MITIGATE, TAKE THE FUEL OUT OF THE SITUATION IN A SENSE?

>> I THINK WE LOOK AT THE SCALE OF THE LANDSCAPE, THERE'S PARTS AND PIECES WHERE THROUGH D.N.R.

FOREST MANAGEMENT, WORK IS BEING DONE TO HARVEST WHAT YOU CAN AND REGENERATE WHAT YOU CAN.

WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT A LARGE PORTION THAT IS IN THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS AREA WHICH IS REALLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN WILL HAPPEN AND THERE'S NOT EFFORTS TO UNDERGO TO TREAT IT OR TAKE IT AWAY OR DO SOMETHING.

IT'S KIND OF THERE.

PART OF THE LANDSCAPE.

>> Cathy: SURE.

AND YOU MENTIONED, AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE CLIMATE CFSS CLIMATOLOGY WE'VE GOT CLIMATE CHANGE THAT WE ARE WATCHING AND SO MANY CHANGES HAVE OCCURRED IN MINNESOTA BECAUSE OF THIS AND I'M WONDERING IS THIS KIND OF A NEW NORMAL IN A SENSE?

ARE WE LOOKING AT WHAT WE CAN EXPECT IN THAT AREA OF THE STATE MOVING FORWARD?

>> IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHAT A NEW NORMAL IT LOOKS LIKE EXACTLY, BUT CERTAINLY WITH CHANGES TO THE CLIMATE SYSTEM, SLOW YEAR AFTER YEAR CHANGES YOU CAN, YOU CAN GET DRYER OR WETTER PERIODS, YOU TEND TO GET MORE EXTREME EVENTS WHEN THEY DO HAPPEN, SO MORE EXTREME WEATHER SYSTEMS.

AND THINGS GOING BACK TO THE PESTS, THE CHANGE IN CLIMATE SYSTEM CHANGES THE RANGE OF THESE PESTS AND THE VECTORS THAT THEY CARRY AS WELL SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING TO KEEP AN EYE ON.

>> Eric: IS THERE ANYTHING FOLKS IN YOUR BUSINESS ARE GOING TO BE STUDYING PARTICULAR TO THIS SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES?

>> YEAH, I THINK SO.

I THINK SOME OF THE THESE FIRES UP NORTH HAVE, ARE BURNING ON SOILS THAT HAVE A LOT OF PEAT IN THEM SO THEY TEND TO BE BURNING DEEPER AND MAYBE WOULD HAVE SOME RESURGENCE AFTER THE INITIAL FIRES ARE PUT OUT.

SO I THINK WE SHOULD EXPECT EXTENDED FIRE FIGHTING MEASURES THAT WOULD BE GOING ON FOR EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, WEEKS TO MONTHS PROBABLY.

AND AIR QUALITY IS KIND F MY BACKGROUND AREA AND SO I'M CONCERNED ABOUT A LOT OF THE HEALTH IMPACTS THAT ARE ON THE SMOKE THAT GOES DOWNWIND OF THESE FIRES AND THE EXPOSURE.

>> Cathy: BY THE WAY, SPEAKING OF THE SMOKE, HAVE YOU BOTH EVER SEEN AIR QUALITY INDICES THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS WEEK?

THOSE ARE JUST CRAZY.

>> NOT HERE IN MINNESOTA I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT.

JUST WE ARE SO CLOSE TO THE FIRES THAT ARE BURNING IT'S A REALLY HIGH CONCENTRATION.

WE'RE A LITTLE BIT AT THE MERCY OF THE WIND DIRECTION, SO RIGHT NOW IT'S A LITTLE FURTHER EAST, WE'RE EXPECTING IT TO CIRCLE BACK A LITTLE BIT HERE IN MINNESOTA.

SO I WOULD DEFINITELY URGE PEOPLE TO JUST SORT OF BE PREPARED BECAUSE THESE EVENTS MAY COME AND GO.

WE SAW A COUPLE DAY EXTENDED PERIOD BUT GOING FORWARD WE MAY SEE JUST SOME SHORTER, FEW HOURS AT A TIME WHERE IT'S REALLY BAD, SO HAVING AN N95 MASK THAT YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOU IF YOU'RE OUTDOORS AND INDOORS DOING THINGS LIKE RUNNING YOUR AIR CONDITIONER OR RUNNING AIR FILTERS, THERE'S GOOD HOME-BUILT AIR FILTER OPTIONS OUT THERE, THE CORSI-ROSENTHAL AIR FILTER WHICH IS A REALLY NEAT WAY OF, LOW COST, ABOUT A TENTH OF THE PRICE OF A COMMERCIAL AIR FILTER.

>> Cathy: MIKE, AS OU GO BACK TO THE OFFICES IN ST.

PAUL AND STANDARD COORDINATION AND KIND OF HELP YOUR TEAMS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE THINKING ABOUT >> PRIMARILY WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT FIRST AND FOREMOST IS A LITTLE BIT OF THE FORESHADOWING WHERE WE HAD MORE LIGHTNING TODAY, AND HOPEFULLY THAT DOESN'T DO SOMETHING, BUT ODDS ARE SOMETHING IS GOING TO OCCUR FROM THAT AND ON HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DETECT THAT AND HOW MUCH MORE FIRE IT ADDS TO THE LANDSCAPE.

AND ALSO THINKING HOW LONG OF A DURATION WE'RE INVOLVED WITH THIS IN TERMS OF ALL THE FIREFIGHTERS, COMMUNITY IMPACT, THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE THIS IS REALLY CONTROLLED AND CONTAINED AND I DON'T WANT TO SAY BACK TO A NORMAL STATUS BUT TO A POINT WHERE WE'RE NOT CONCERNED AND IT'S NOT IMPACTING PEOPLE'S LIVES.

>> Eric: GREAT INFORMATION