Firefighters continued to gain ground on the Alpine Lake fire on Sunday.
"We're saying 35 percent contained now versus 33, so we gained a little bit" in the past 24 hours, said Dewey Hanson, Grand Rapids-based information officer for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center.
The fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, 50 miles northwest of Grand Marais, still covers about 1,335 acres, Hanson said.
Now in its second week, it still hasn't led to any deaths or serious injuries, but a freak incident Sunday could have had tragic consequences.
Hanson said a boatload of firefighters approaching a landing were nearly struck by a falling "snag" -- firefighter lingo for a standing tree made unstable by burned roots.
"They had an early shower -- they had to jump in the lake to get out of the way," Hanson said. "No one was hit, but the boat was slightly damaged."
The problem is caused by intense fire creeping through the duff of the forest floor that sometimes leaves trees without above-ground signs of burns.
"Snags are a real concern right now," Hanson said.
A total of 248 people are now battling the blaze, which has cost an estimated$1.5 million through Sunday.
Saturday was the first day in which the CL-215 "water bomber" airplanes weren't used to fight the fire. The planes scoop water from lakes in monster gulps of 1,400 gallons. One of the planes was called out on Sunday, but Hanson said he didn't believe it made any water drops.
Hanson said weather continues to favor firefighters. Sunday brought slightly higher temperatures and lower humidity than Saturday -- both bad things. But a southwest breeze of just4 mph to 8 mph saved the day.
"Had we had the wind, it could have been a very interesting day of firefighting," Hanson said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
