Areas in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest closed to the public because of their proximity to the Pagami Creek Fire have been reopened thanks to cooler, wetter weather and increased containment of the blaze.
The 92,682 acre Pagami Creek Fire which started in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in August is now 87% contained, according to the fire’s incident command.
Despite last week’s hot, dry weather and high winds, firefighters battling the Pagami Creek Fire in northeastern Minnesota now have the blaze 80% contained, officials reported Monday morning.
Superior National Forest officials will no longer hold a lottery to distribute Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness permits for the most popular dates and entry points.
For the third time this year, Minnesota’s Executive Council has delayed the sale of a set of northeastern Minnesota mineral exploration leases on properties where the state holds mineral rights but private individuals own surface land.
Days after funding for a federal program used to control wolves that prey on livestock was set to end, the Department of Agriculture has pledged money to keep the effort running through the end of the year.
The Pagami Creek Fire, which has burned in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness since August 18, is now 71% contained, according to firefighting officials.
High winds and rough water are complicating the tasks of firefighters trying to take full control over the Pagami Creek Fire which has burned 93,459 acres of forest in and adjoining the Boundary Waters.
The black bear known to a devoted Internet following as Hope has been confirmed dead, shot by a bear hunter near Ely, MN as had been speculated.
A yearling bear whose birth in the wild in 2010 was broadcast via web-cam on the Internet may have been killed by a hunter recently near Ely.
With the Pagami Creek Fire currently 30% contained, Forest Service officials took time to explain why they let the lightening-caused fire burn prior to the day it blazed across 80,000 acres of forest in a matter of hours.
The Pagami Creek Fire that has burned more than 93,000 acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and adjacent forest is now 23% contained according fire officials.
Wet weather in northeastern Minnesota over the weekend helped firefighters in their battle with the Pagami Creek fire which raced across the Boundary Waters last week and continues to threaten the area.
After a second day in which weather conditions allowed a growing team of firefighters to hold ground against the fire burning in the Boundary Waters, frustration over the Forest Service’s initial response to the blaze has flared.
Cooler weather on Wednesday that included rain and even some snow showers helped slow the advance of the Pagami Creek fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness which has consumed more than 100,000 acres of forest.
The Pagami Creek Fire, which has so far consumed some 100,000 acres of Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness forest, is the largest forest fire in Minnesota since 1918.
Fanned by gusty northwest winds, the Pagami Creek Fire nearly quadrupled in size yesterday, charring Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness forest from Lakes One and Two in the north to just north of Clearwater Lake in the south.
The Pagami Creek fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has expanded to consume more than 4,000 acres of forest, prompting closures of some areas of the BWCAW near Ely.
Quetico Provincial Park was named one of the world’s top-10 boating destinations by the travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.
Superior National Forest officials are using intentional burns to reduce the danger posed by a small, lightening ignited fire near Lake One and Lake Two in the Boundary Waters east of Ely, Minnesota.