A wildfire burning since Tuesday, June 13 in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is 80 percent contained and 22-acres big as of Monday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
New details released over the weekend about the fire stated that fire investigators determined the fire was caused by humans, but fell short of saying exactly how humans contributed to the blaze.
Despite dry conditions, fire crews working to extinguish the flames have had help from mother nature.
"They've had low wind speeds which is really helpful," said Tim Engrave, a public information officer working with the Minnesota Team B, the incident team working on the Spice Lake Fire. "It has been warm and continues to be dry, but without the wind pushing on the fire they were able to, in combination with the water that was dropped by airplanes on Wednesday, give them the opportunity to go in there and make good progress on suppression efforts."
Related
Engrave says just over 30 firefighters, including a 19 person "hot shot" crew, were part of the initial response that began working on the fire last Thursday and Friday. Some of the work included "mopping up" which includes extinguishing hot spots on the fire's edge to prevent embers from jumping.
Closures are still in place around were the fire started which is impacting a portion of the BWCAW. Campfire restrictions are also in place. Entry points meanwhile remain open along with outfitters, business, and lodges on the Gunflint Trail.
"If a group had a permit for one of the entry points that's close by the closure area they could certainly work with their outfitter to look at options or call the Forest Service District Office to see how that might change," added Engrave.
Official information on the Spice Lake Fire can be found here.