Storms start to move out of Minnesota, continue for western Wisconsin

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As crews continued to make progress containing two large wildfires north of Duluth on Friday, Superior National Forest officials are monitoring a new wildfire burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The Horse River fire, about 15 miles northeast of Ely, was estimated at about 5 to 10 acres in size as of Friday morning. It was caused by lightning and first detected on Thursday.

“The area is remote and over a mile off any canoe route, and is a mix of swamp and forested vegetation, so access is very challenging,” U.S. Forest Service officials 

The plan for Friday was to conduct more aerial surveys to determine the best way to access the site, and the best course of action for wildland firefighting crews.

There were no closure orders in place for the fire as of Friday morning. The weather forecast through Saturday called for cool conditions and generally light winds, with a slight chance for rain showers.

Previous coverage

Crews are getting the upper hand on northern Minnesota wildfires

Despite fierce winds, crews keep wildfires in northern Minnesota from spreading

Elevated fire conditions return to northeastern Minnesota

Northern Minnesota wildfires

Meanwhile, to the south, authorities reported containment of the 16,781-acre Jenkins Creek fire near Hoyt Lakes was up to 47 percent on Friday — up from 32 percent the previous day.

The Camp House fire near Brimson, which has burned just over 12,000 acres and dozens of structures, remained at 90 percent containment. 

Nearly 600 firefighters continue to work on those two large wildfires.

While much of Minnesota received significant rainfall in recent days, there was much less in the northeast. The state Department of Natural Resources says fire danger in northeastern Minnesota remains high heading into the long holiday weekend.

The Minnesota Executive Council on Friday voted unanimously to extend the peacetime emergency declared by Gov. Tim Walz to provide resources to battle the wildfires in northern Minnesota by 30 days.

MPR News Staff

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Superior National Forest officials are monitoring a new wildfire burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

An aerial view of smoke rising from a fire in a forest

Crews make progress containing wildfires north of Duluth; new fire reported in Boundary Waters

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