Tuesday, August 16, 2005
BWCA fire 45 percent contained
kare11.com : Minneapolis, St. Paul: "Firefighters made substantial gains against a wildfire burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Monday, and their lines held despite winds as high as 30 mph.
'We're calling it 45 percent contained,' up from 35 percent on Sunday, said Dewey Hanson, a spokesman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids.
Hanson said the 268 people fighting the fire 'did a fantastic job' Monday, securing more than a half mile of the containment line on the north side of the fire.
'Tomorrow we should be able to finish that northern line, and if we get that finished we've got it in a pretty good box,' he said.
Helicopters were able to drop water on hotspots within the lines and officials did not need to call in the water-scooping airplanes that are standing by, he said. One firefighter suffered a strained knee, but the injury wasn't serious, he said.
The fire has burned about 1,300 acres between Alpine, Seagull, Red Rock and Grandpa lakes since it was sparked by lightning on July 30 and smoldered until flaring up Aug. 6. It is the largest fire in the northeastern Minnesota wilderness area in a decade and has cost nearly $1.9 million to fight as of Monday evening, Hanson said.
No structures have been damaged, and Hanson said a sprinkler line set up to the east of the fire should prevent it from reaching cabins and businesses near the end of the Gunflint Trail, the 57-mile road leading into the wilderness from Grand Marais. " ¶ 4:44 AM
'We're calling it 45 percent contained,' up from 35 percent on Sunday, said Dewey Hanson, a spokesman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids.
Hanson said the 268 people fighting the fire 'did a fantastic job' Monday, securing more than a half mile of the containment line on the north side of the fire.
'Tomorrow we should be able to finish that northern line, and if we get that finished we've got it in a pretty good box,' he said.
Helicopters were able to drop water on hotspots within the lines and officials did not need to call in the water-scooping airplanes that are standing by, he said. One firefighter suffered a strained knee, but the injury wasn't serious, he said.
The fire has burned about 1,300 acres between Alpine, Seagull, Red Rock and Grandpa lakes since it was sparked by lightning on July 30 and smoldered until flaring up Aug. 6. It is the largest fire in the northeastern Minnesota wilderness area in a decade and has cost nearly $1.9 million to fight as of Monday evening, Hanson said.
No structures have been damaged, and Hanson said a sprinkler line set up to the east of the fire should prevent it from reaching cabins and businesses near the end of the Gunflint Trail, the 57-mile road leading into the wilderness from Grand Marais. " ¶ 4:44 AM
