ELY, Minn. (AP) -- Light rain gave firefighters some help Tuesday as they battled a wildfire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but much work remained.
''This isn't over _ it's far from over,'' Jim Hinds, U.S. Forest Service incident commander, said at a staging area at the northern end of the Gunflint Trail, about four miles northeast of the fire near Alpine Lake.
The fire is burning near the end of the Gunflint Trail between Alpine and Seagull lakes. Satellite mapping set the burned area at 485 acres early Monday. By Tuesday morning, the fire had grown to about 690 acres, said Patti Hines, a fire information officer with the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids.
About a tenth of an inch of rain fell overnight, which will help firefighters Tuesday, but not much rain is forecast for the area, Hines said.
Campers should be prepared to bring in cookstoves because Superior National Forest plans to ban open burning in the 1999 blowdown area of the BWCA starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, she said.
Firefighters also are preparing fire breaks for a possible burn-out Wednesday, to burn up vegetation that could fuel the fire.
About 147 firefighters were on the scene at the end of the Gunflint Trail at midday Tuesday. So far, those firefighters haven't been dispatched to fight the blaze from the ground. An additional crew of 20 firefighters has been requested.
Pilots in amphibious water bombers remained on-guard Tuesday morning at their base in Hibbing. The water bombers may be called in to soak a line and prevent that intentional fire from spreading, said Don MacDonald, a pilot for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
There were no evacuations.
In 1999, strong winds blew down millions of trees in the BWCA, leaving it more exposed to fires.
The fire started Saturday, apparently from lightning several days earlier that had smoldered until winds fanned the flames. About 16 campsites on five lakes have been closed, including ones on Grandpa, Seagull, Saganaga, Alpine and Red Rock. The portage between Alpine and Seagull lakes also is closed.
This fire was two to three miles from the nearest structures, including cabins, homes, resorts outfitters and campgrounds.
