More than 830 people are now helping stamp out the remnants of the Pagami Creek fire in the Superior National Forest, and they're having an easier time of it after several days of rain.
Crews now have more than 30 percent of the fire contained thanks to help from several aircraft, bulldozers, firetrucks and more. But more than an inch of rain since Sunday has been the biggest factor, along with cool weather.
"It was raining hard enough (Wednesday) that they took the crews off the line by about noon. Best to keep them warm and healthy," said Doug Anderson, spokesman for the interagency team battling the blaze. "As much as the amount of rain, it's the long duration, over several days, that really helps calm the fire down."
Fire officials on Wednesday once again redefined the fire's boundary and downgraded the total acres to 93,669 acres, down from the original estimate of 100,000 acres. About 9,274 acres outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was burned over by the fire.
Most of the BWCAW is now open to the public except for entry points and routes that lead into the fire area. Nearly all roads are open, except for small forest and county roads north of Minnesota Highway 1 and Lake County Highway 7.
The fire started Aug. 18 with a lightning strike and grew into a major blaze Sept. 11-12 but has been mostly quiet since then.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
