Officials leading the fight against wildfires in northeastern Minnesota are warning about a new threat: bears.
The carnivoran mammals have been seen sniffing around the generous donations of food and other supplies.
Superior National Forest officials say those donations have far out-stripped their need, and there's no secure spaces for storage.
That means the donations now must be stored in the open, and, as some have pointed out, some bears can smell a salami at five miles and can run faster than a horse.
Even if those claims aren't accurate, having food out in the open in the middle of the forest can lead to trouble.
Officials say they've had two instances of bear damage already.
Crews have been battling the Greenwood Lake fire since it was spotted Aug. 15, about 15 miles southwest of the town of Isabella.
The area received a much-needed 1.5 to 2 inches of rain from Saturday afternoon through Monday morning.
The fire now 37 percent contained.
