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 latest media reports on the fire are available HERE (Minnesota Public Radio), HERE (StarTribune), and HERE (Duluth News-Tribune).
KARE 11 reported from the scene yesterday, HERE, and included a short interview with University of Minnesota forest ecologist Lee Frelich on the role of fire in the BWCAW forest.
Despite the favorable weather that allowed fire crews — which number some 500 firefighters — to build firebreaks at the edge of the fire, officials are still concerned that the fire could grow as the weather warms again and conditions on the ground remain dry.
All entry points to the BWCAW are closed except for entry points along the Echo Trail, Moose Lake (with travel allowed only up the chain and to the west), Wood Lake, Fall Lake, Trout Lake section of the wilderness, Brule Lake (but only for use of Brule Lake itself), Seagull (only for use of Seagull), Saganaga (only for use of Saganaga), and the Vento section of the BWCAW.
Highway 1 between Finland and Ely has remained open to traffic, but most of the roads north of the highway are closed.
See the InciWeb site for the fire HERE for ongoing updates >