On May 28, an explosion at the Verso paper mill in Sartell, Minnesota claimed one life, injured five others, and resulted in the biggest fire in Sartell's history.  The blast concusion was experienced by many around town, and it was reported that the thick black smoke was visible from as far away as Foley. Crystal Blunt captured this image less than half an hour after the initial blast, and the fire continued to burn for the following two days. The following images where captured as smoke... (continue reading...)

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Patches of open water were widening on the river today as temperatures in St.Cloud went into the high 50's. View a shot overlooking the city as seen on WJON.... (continue reading...)

     I sent the plane up for a low-res trip above the ranch neighborhood last weekend. This is the centrecam aircraft with the camera looking down and backwards today. Although it can mount on skis, it's still currently on wheel landing gear. In this configuration the propellor is very low to the ground and you can hear it sucking a few small rocks into the propellor and launching at least one of them right through the tailfin. The river in view is the Missippi.      It was around... (continue reading...)

[caption id="attachment_2013" align="aligncenter" width="922" caption="The river ice from an 80 foot altitude. (Hot food after a chilly flight, click on this photo to reveal and support a great downtown restaurant)"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_2014" align="aligncenter" width="922" caption="The ice again from 20 feet overhead."][/caption] [youtube UgLtdq63xy0]           After several days of temperatures well below freezing, the Mississippi River has frozen over in St.Cloud.... (continue reading...)

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Scroll Down This Page For Postings Through June, 2011. For Additional Amazing Aerial Photos, Click Through The Archives From May 2011 And Before.        I hoped that the combination of heavy rain and a break in the clouds would result in an incredible rainbow today so I scrambled the airplane to Whitney Field. Unfortunately, the rainbow never materialized. The weather turned hot, muggy and hazy today, and later, I spent an hour of flying at the amazing Boomerville Lodge.        A... (continue reading...)

  Support Flight Flash and bring innovative news and views to Minnesota and your community. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING IMAGES AND VIDEOS  IN THIS REPORT, (EXCEPT RADAR AND SATELLITE) WERE PRODUCED BY FLIGHT FLASH.        WEATHER RE-CAP 2011. Spring in St. Cloud gave an unusual hint that things to come might be on the line of the unexpected - or maybe even extreme. An April snowfall christened the city with a beautiful, albeit unseasonable layer of snow crystals that completely vanished... (continue reading...)

  Another summer in Central Minnesota to remember. This flight on July 21st reveals the Sauk River (in Waite Park) at flood stage. Even after a string of rescues, and  a sunken rescue boat recovery in the news last week, I encountered 3 teens swimming dangerously in these waters...again, without life jackets. They finally exited the water just before the rapids became dangerously strong. This view reveals the river beside Parkwood 18 with the quarries in the background.   Here's a video... (continue reading...)

A recent file photo (7.8.11) of the Sauk River near to where the rescue call was made.  On Tuesday afternoon, as the Sauk River approached flood stage in St.Cloud, a report that a woman was spotted clinging to a tree in the swift flowing waters of the Sauk sent rescue teams into action. Upon her retrieval, it was learned that up to 7 more members of a group who had gone tubing that day were unaccounted for. The rescue effort immediately intensified. [youtube nh1Em6JvR88] The news service... (continue reading...)