ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Colder temperatures and a bit of rain, sleet and snow Wednesday helped firefighters working on the 100,000-acre Pagami Creek fire in northeastern Minnesota.
The Duluth News Tribune reported temperatures reached only into the upper 40s, compared with the 80-degree readings Monday that helped the blaze roar into the largest wildfire the state has seen in years. But it was still windy, officials said.
"It's a pause. It's a lull. It's a good chance to get crews and airplanes on it and do some work," said Mary Shedd, spokeswoman for the firefighting team battling the blaze in the popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. "But it's not at all contained or controlled."
The newspaper said bulldozers were being used to dig fire lines and trenches on the southern flank of the fire, north of Isabella, and crews were setting up pumps to throw water on the advancing flames. Aerial water drops were carried out throughout the day.
More than 325 firefighters from several states were working the fire Wednesday. Gov. Mark Dayton mobilized the National Guard to aid firefighting efforts, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Only one state-owned cabin on Insula Lake had burned so far and no one had been injured, but many cabins, homes and resorts were threatened.
"We don't want this fire to grow one bit more," Shedd said. "But it's going to be warming up this weekend and it's staying dry. That's not what we need."
The News Tribune said area residents have been questioning why the U.S. Forest Service didn't act more aggressively to put out the fire that was ignited by lightning Aug. 18.
The blaze was monitored as it burned slowly, with the expectation that rains would eventually squelch it. But it stayed hot and dry in the region and last weekend, the fire revved up far beyond expectations.
"The models that they depended on just didn't figure on how hot and how dry it was and how much the wind came up and which direction it came from," Shedd said. "The probability of it spreading this far was supposed to be 3 percent.
"They used the best information they had at the time. But it wasn't good enough."
Firefighters are trying to stay at least one day ahead of what they expect the fire might do so canoeists and others still in the area will have time to get to safety. Several entry points to popular camping and canoeing areas were closed as a precaution.
Smoke from the fire drifted across the Upper Midwest to as far south as Chicago, more than 400 miles away.
