wildfire

State authorities say the wildfire threat is growing in Minnesota. Parts of the state are already in high fire danger, others are getting close.

Firefighters are bracing for a gusty day Thursday as they battle a wildfire in the Boundary Waters of northeastern Minnesota.

Firefighters now have a wildfire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of northeastern Minnesota more than 50 percent contained. A Monday morning update says the fire is 53 percent contained. The size remains about 146 square miles.

The forest fire that has burned over 147 square miles in northeastern Minnesota has given a not entirely welcome boost to the Ely area economy.

Hundreds of firefighters continue to make progress in containing a huge wildfire in northeastern Minnesota that began a month ago. A spokesman for the firefighters, Larry Helmerick, said Monday the 147-square-mile fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is 19 percent contained, an improvement from 11 percent on Sunday.

Firefighters returned to the front lines of a wilderness wildfire burning in northern Minnesota early Friday, after calling a truce overnight.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is advising people to take precautions if they smell smoke or see haze from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area fire.

Authorities in Benton County are investigating a series of arson wildfires. Sheriff Brad Bennett says there have three such fires already this spring. The grassfires pose a threat to the public, natural resources and private property.