Gunflint Falling: Blowdown in the Boundary Waters

by Cary J. Griffith

Stories from survivors of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness’s epochal weather disaster

  On July 4, 1999, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), a bizarre confluence of meteorological events resulted in the most damaging blowdown in the region’s history. Originating over the Dakotas, the midsummer windstorm developed amid unusually high heat and water-saturated forests and moved steadily east, bearing down on Fargo, North Dakota, and damaging land as it crossed the Minnesota border. Gunflint Falling tells the story of this devastating storm from the perspectives of those who were on the ground before, during, and after the catastrophic event—from first-time visitors to the north woods to returning paddlers to Forest Service Rangers.   The pre-dawn forecasts from the National Weather Service in Duluth for that Sunday of the holiday weekend predicted the day would be “warm and humid. Partly sunny with a thirty percent chance of thunderstorms.” But as the afternoon and evening settled over the Boundary Waters, the first eyewitness accounts began to tell a dramatic and terrifying story. Five friends camping on Lake Polly watched in wonder as the sky turned green and the winds began to whip. They scrambled to pull canoes on shore and secure tarps when a tree snapped and struck one of them in the head, rendering her unconscious. Three women enjoying their last day of a camping trip near the end of the Gunflint Trail took shelter in their tent as winds increased. Water drenched the nylon walls as trees crashed around them, one flattening the tent and pinning a woman beneath its weight. A family vacationing at their cabin dodged falling trees and strained against straight-line winds as they sprinted from the cabin to the safest place they a crawl space underneath it. They watched in awe as trees snapped and toppled, their twisted root balls torn out of the water-logged earth—as they prayed their cabin would hold.   By the time the storm began to subside, falling trees had injured approximately sixty people, and most needed to be medevacked to safety. Amazingly, no one died. The historic storm laid down timber that would later blaze in the Ham Lake fire of 2007, ultimately reshaping the region’s forests in ways we have yet to fully understand.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Outdoors

1 pages, Audio CD

Published May 14, 2024

About the author

Award-winning author Cary J. Griffith grew up among the woods, fields, and emerald waters of eastern Iowa. His childhood fostered a lifelong love of wild places.

He earned a B.A. in English from the University of Iowa and an M.A. in library science from the University of Minnesota.

Griffith’s books explore the natural world. In nonfiction, he covers the borderlands between civilization and wild places. In fiction, he focuses on the ways some people use flora and fauna to commit crimes, while others with more reverence and understanding of the natural world leverage their knowledge to bring criminals to justice.

He lives with his family in a suburb of Minnesota’s Twin Cities.

Reviews

[Maureen Mahowald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have benefited by including photos of the storm damage. More stories of survival would have made this book a compelling read. Unfortunately, too many pages were devoted to sharing bureaucratic report summaries, including the information that the original report was single spaced!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting engaging story of the derecho that struck northern Minnesota on July 4th 1999. The story is based on interviews with survivors and first responders. Would recommend particularly for people with knowledge of the Gunflint Trail and Boundary Waters area.

[Becky Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nonfiction but reads like fiction in the beginning. Well researched.

[Amy Hepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gunflint Falling captures your attention and heart from the very first page. Griffith details the devastating derecho that blew through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on July 4, 1999. From the harrowing survival stories to the recovery efforts, the reader is drawn into the drama of their stories. Having canoed several of the lakes mentioned in the book gave me an advantage to understanding the destruction of that fateful day. But, Gunflint Falling pulls you into the dense wilderness and you’ll emerge with a newfound respect for Mother Nature even if you’ve never stepped foot inside the Boundary Waters.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself on the west end of the blowdown, about 16 miles NNW of Ely on July 10, 1999. At the time it was hard to believe this could have been worse, yet like so many in the book, it was hard to grasp without seeing it, and that it was actually much worse to the east. Without the social media and the ubiquitous phone camera, the only thing we knew about was a storm before we arrived that took out power for a few days the previous week. What struck me was how many birch trees broke off 10-20 feet up and how so many pine trees toppled by pulling up the roots. Accounts and photos of the more eastern area show many of the pines broken off at ground level, an indicator of deeper roots and stronger winds.

I have also read "Lost in the Wild", my favorite by Cary Griffith, and "Gunflint Burning", an informative book about a crown fire in the BWCAW in 2007 at Ham Lake.

My wife related a story about a downburst, a local weather event, while canoeing with 'Wilderness Inquiry Two' in the summer of 1982, also with downed trees in camp, coming and going in minutes. Huge weather events make quite the impression and a derecho is by definition huge.

The use of the beaver airplane was significant in removing injured campers. It is quite an airplane, suitable for back county flying for search and rescue. On a side note, I had an unplanned ride in a beaver in Alaska when the pilot of a smaller plane determined (correctly) he could not safely fly out in the prevailing weather conditions and the beaver was called in. Strap in tight.

What is hugely amazing is there were no deaths directly attributed to the storm. For so many campers in the wilderness, it is amazing. In my circle of friends, there have been two incidents of their friends experiencing deaths while camping (one lightning related and one tree falling). Weather can be frightening enough with a tent between you and the environment, yet many of us continue to do it, to experience the wilderness and nature... why? because it is there and there is something special about it.

Back to the book, it may not be relatable to some, and some may not like the bouncing from west end to east end of the BWCAW, but it maintains the timeline while relating the experience of campers, pilots, NFS, NWLFS, PIO, local search teams, and of course the injured campers. I found myself very engaged in the book.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down. The information in this book is fascinating. I vaguely remember this event when it happened in 1999. I paid some attention to it because I had gone on a canoe trip in the BWCAW in 1978 and we went out of Wilderness Canoe Base which was in the heart of the blowdown.
The maps included were helpful in understanding where the people were whose experiences were included, but there were no photos in the book at all. This was disappointing especially since the author mentioned multiple times that one of the people had a disposable camera and kept taking pictures. There also must have been many aerial photos taken given all the flyovers of the devastation.
The writing style was a bit disappointing as well. It seemed like he was writing with a thesaurus sitting next to him so he could pull out words like verdure and pestilential to name a few. Just not my taste, I guess.
I also would have liked more examples of campers’ experiences during and after the storm, and less about the officials, their titles and job responsibilities and who reported to who.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed description of devastating event that occurred in 1999 in BWCA. I found the campers accounts the most interesting and the biographies of employees and incident command structure the most tedious. Overall I was glad I read it since I’m familiar, but not everyone would find it engaging.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling and very informative read, especially for those who know and love the Boundary Waters.

This book once again drove home for me just how miraculous it is that nobody was killed and that there were only twenty injured campers that required medical evacuation. Having spent decades taking Boundary Waters canoe trips, remains unfathomable to me that nobody was killed, and that more were not seriously injured.

A few things that would have improved it for me: one, there is a ton detail on the collaboration and operations between the forest service, fish and wildlife, local search and rescue, county sheriffs, and others who were engaged in emergency response. This was interesting and added to the value of the book for me. However, towards the end, there was so much detail on forest service documentation that it became a bit of a slog. I was listening to an audiobook version, and therefore was not able to skim and jump ahead. There were bits of information that I didn't want to miss, so I just kept going through the end. I'm sure this level of documentation is very helpful for those reading it from a forest service / incident command /emergency response and management perspective. It was just a lot for the average reader.

Second, the narrator approaches women's voices in a way that far too many male audiobook narrators do, and that's to make them sound a bit ditzy, for lack of a better term. It's really annoying and changes how we experience these women. Male narrators, please don't try to create higher voices, upward inflections, and other vocal characteristics you may associate with women. Especially in this setting, making women sound a bit like clueless damsels in distress while at the same time documenting their strength and fortitude was jarringly incongruous. Male narrators: PLEASE just read in a normal voice, as you do with male characters.

One voice that the author and narrator absolutely nailed: Bruce Kerfoot. At times, I wondered if I was listening to Bruce speak instead of the narrator. 🙂

Third, there were many mispronunciations in the book, and the narrator/producer should have done a better job of looking into the correct pronunciations. Saganaga, for example. I know quite a few of the people included in the book, and many of their names were also mispronounced. If it's worth producing an audiobook, it's worth pronouncing names and locations correctly.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Minnesotan I regard the Boundary Waters of as one of the great natural blessings in our state. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. More than 1 million acres, it extends nearly 150 miles along the international boundary adjacent to Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park and is bordered on the west by Voyageurs National Park. The area contains more than 1,200 miles of canoe routes, 12 hiking trails and more than 2,000 designated campsites. Wilderness offers freedom to those who wish to pursue an experience of expansive solitude, challenge and personal integration with nature. Because this area was set aside in 1926 to preserve its primitive character and made a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964, it allows visitors to canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French Voyageurs of 200 years ago. This book is the story of the "derecho" ( which may be translated as straight ) which struck the Boundary Waters in 1999 and blew down more approximate 500,000 acres of trees - some snapped off a few feet above the ground, others simply uprooted entirely. The July 4th weekend may have contributed to the fact that no deaths happened in Minnesota ( two in Canada ) as potential campers were at celebrations and family gatherings. The book describes the event, rescue efforts and some individuals who were injured in the storm. No vehicles or engines were allowed in the area. Hiking or canoes and portages were the means of transportation. ( These rules were waived during the rescue process. ) With all the timber down and dry, I have worried ever since that a fire would destroy virtually the entire park. So far we have been relatively fortunate as there have been two major fires: the Cavity Lake fire burned 32,000 acres and the Ham Lake fire destroyed more than 75,000. Significant but no where near a million acres. Though I have never traveled in the area myself, several of my friends did so. Interesting book for Minnesotans, but also insteresting for others as an example of climate and weather changes. Kristi & Abby Tabby .

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book recounts the events of a massive and damaging wind storm in northern Minnesota on July 4, 1999. I moved to the state two years later, and wasn’t very aware of the event before reading the book.

The style reminded me of books I’ve read about the Granite Mountain fire and Mount St. Helens eruption, in which an author follows various characters through the days surrounding the event. Unfortunately, there’s more of a sameness here, as people go to the Boundary Waters, canoe, portage, pick a campsite, see the clouds approach and trees fall, while others have meetings about how to proceed. Some people are injured and need rescuing, but for most people it’s just a hassle getting out through all the downed trees. I’m sure it would be a more exciting read for people who actually lived through it, but I doubt even that could make paragraphs of names of people who attended meetings afterward very interesting.

It’s a very human-centered book, and I would have been more interested in meteorological and ecological aspects which are touched on very lightly, if at all.

Thanks to the University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for the advance copy to review.

[Todd Buegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lori and I saw this book (a signed copy!) at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul and right away said "we need to buy this." She and I went into the Boundary Waters approx. 6-8 weeks after the storm and blowdown took place.

I really liked this book. First and foremost because so many of the places the book talked about were places I'd been and were familiar with. But also because the story of what happened was an interesting narrative in and of itself.

And Griffith is a good storyteller. He has a "just the facts" approach, but was able to share enough of the tension that you can't help but empathize with those the storm affected.

It's a worthwhile read...especially if you have a love of the Boundary Waters.

[Tracey Cramer-Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every now and then a non-fiction, journalistic book catches my interest, in this case because I live in Minnesota, where the Boundary Waters is located. I also have a military and medical background and was curious about the emergency response actions and injuries. As a journalistic endeavor, this book is likely what is expected. But long passages about the various routes, islands and lakes (with only a few rudimentary maps) along with long passages about the emergency structure aren’t what most readers would find… compelling. From my own perspective, I wanted more emotion, in particular from the people most affected personally by the event. Photos of the massive destruction (huge trees felled like toothpicks, impassable portages etc), were, in my opinion, essential… but there were none.

[Glenn R. Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is history writing at its finest and most gripping. Griffith perfectly balances the human-interest element of natural devastation, while helping the reader understand both the broader scope and implications of the blowdown event. Unfortunately, for one to regard the BWCA blowdown as a one-time occurrence would be short-sighted and ignorant of global meteorological trends. Griffith admirably positions this in the appropriate context: as a symptom of the world in which we are now living. Highly recommended for readers interested in general history, Minnesota history, and environmental concerns.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neither data alone nor anecdotes alone fully paint a complete picture of an event - especially one as great as the great Fourth of July storm that swept across northern Minnesota in 1999. Griffith combines science and data with the personal stories of many of those impacted by the massive derecho that flattened millions of trees in the Boundary Waters, closed roads including the Gunflint Trail, and seriously endangered canoeists and campers in the isolated wilderness. Truly a must-read for those who love the outdoors - especially those who love northern Minnesota. Once again. Griffith writes a narrative that is both important and engaging.

[Brian Duren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Griffith could have chosen to write a descriptive summary of what had happened in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on July 4, 1999, when a massive, violent storm, with winds of up to 120 miles per hour, knocked down 30 million trees. Instead, he chose to interview the numerous campers and canoers who were in the Boundary Waters that day, as well as the state and local officials and employees who had to deal with the results of the disaster. Griffith used these interviews to create multiple narratives from different points of view to enable his readers to better understand and appreciate the emotional and physical impact of this historical derecho.

[Sarah McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in an engaging way through lots of intertwining vignettes about people who were in and around the BWCAW and Gunflint Trail area during this disaster. I can tell a lot of researching and timelines were put together to help the book come together. I don’t know if this is one I would recommend to people unfamiliar with the area, though some may find it interesting! It’s a well written narrative, but I found myself picturing many of the areas and recognizing places on the maps provided for each chapter, which was helpful for me as I read.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for book club and reviews were mixed. I rated it 3.5 and rounded up for Good Reads. I took my first boundary waters trips this summer, so I felt I had an appreciation for the wilderness with a frame of reference. While the book club consensus was the rescue reports in the third part of the book got a little boring, I really liked them! Particularly recommend this book for any Minnesota or boundary waters visitors! I will definitely be reading the other books the author has written about this area!

[Anna Berowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like this. I love Ely, the boundary waters and was a MN teenager during the blowdown. I was a big fan of Cary’s other book Lost in the Wild but this one feels like he had a 1,000 page requirement but only 500 pages worth of material. I kept thinking I was accidentally rereading the same part because things were repeated or said again in a slightly different way multiple times. He is a detailed writer which I have liked but this feels like it could have been more concise.

[Marie Zhuikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't begin to fathom how much work went into the account of the 1999 derecho windstorm that impacted the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Truly a monumental work and a great piece of reporting. Reading the account was fun for me because I know about half of the people mentioned in it (since I used to work for the Forest Service). The writing was good, although some people's quotes could have been summarized. Would also have been nice to include a few photos of the blowdown damage and of the main interviewees.

[Theresa]

4 stars. I grew up around this area. I really enjoyed the history of this horrible storm which I remember very well when it happened. As a young child, my father took me fishing in the BWCA, which was not the BWCA back then. This book took me back to those wonderful memories/years in the Northwoods with my Dad! This is one reason I wanted to read this book! I discovered there were many details I never knew, which delighted me so much. For me, reading this book was like going back “home!"

[Binky Bowberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense account of the July 4, 1999 Blowdown Storm event in the Boundary Waters of MN. I remember viewing the devastation on the Gunflint Trail in the next year or so. A vision that I won’t forget. This is a comprehensive look at a few campers involved, and the many first responders to the incident.
Would have loved to see more pictures included in the narrative.
A very interesting read of a bizarre storm.

[Waterxpolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone with a connection to BWCA, this is a must read. Reads like a fiction thriller. I’ll be reading more from this author — towards the end once the key rescue stories are done, the resolution is repetitive and drawn out, but I attribute this to author completing his account and honoring the extensive work done in fourteen days after the derecho, not just entertaining the masses, which he does so well for a non-fiction book. Superb.

[Kenneth Feeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

After living through the Iowa Derecho on August 10, 2020 in the Cedar Rapids area this book intrigued me. Cary Griffith recounts the July 4, 1999 Derecho that hit the Boundary Waters Area in northern Minnesota. He tells first hand stories from campers to search and rescue in the aftermath. Very well written and harrowing.

[Shella · Rating 3 out of 5]

After spending nearly 15 summers in the Boundary Waters in a cabin on Fall Lake and one wilderness canoe trip- I really enjoyed the descriptions and stories from the people that experienced this blowdown. The government bureaucracy section could have been much shorter. I liked it enough to try his book about the fires years later.

[Deb W · Rating 1 out of 5]

I looked forward to this being a spectacular story of the people who faced cataclysmic conditions from a freak storm. Sadly, even a great story can be ruined by being bogged down with too many facts. A good writer knows the balance. This author still has much to learn in that regard. The story is so burdened that reading it is like trying to eat cooked oatmeal left to dry overnight.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fascinating account of a rare weather event called a derecho which struck the MN BWCA on 7/4/99 and blew down over 400k acres of forest. It’s the story of survival and rescue in the wilderness.

[Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would gladly give this a 3.5 if I could. Maybe I’ll switch it to a 4 later. In general this book would’ve benefited with more scientific analysis. In my opinion after a certain point Griffiths description of events becomes repetitive. Break it up with some science!

[Jeff Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book about a huge weather event that took place in which the only people that knew about it, at the time, were those that were directly involved in it. Everybody else found about it after the fact. Highly recommend!

[Jessica McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was driving up to the BWCA when the blowdown storm was happening. I remember being stuck on Brule Lake because the portages were blocked. I am amazed there were no deaths from this storm.

[Rebecca Jungst Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having left the Gunflint Trail days before this happened and seeing the damage in the years that followed, I enjoyed the read.