Rainfall bouys work on Greenwood fire, which stands at 14% containment
Two inches of rain fell overnight on parts of the Greenwood fire, which now stands at 14% containment, a key milestone in stopping its rapacious spread.
That figure could further improve Sunday as firefighters take advantage of the cool weather, working directly on the fire perimeter, said Clark McCreedy, public information officer with the team managing the fire.
That team's meteorologist tracked between 1.25 and 2 inches of rainfall Saturday and overnight over the 26,000-acre blaze.
"There is a palpable sense of relief," McCreedy said Sunday morning. "All that rain helps to extinguish existing hot spots."
It also aids the crews that are deepening the containment line, he said, working within a shovel's length of one another, turning over logs, burying ashes and hunting for heat.
The containment, along the northwest corner of the fire line, signals officials' confidence the fire will not cross that threshold. Hundreds of workers stretching around the fire's perimeter are now working to fortify the rest of the fire in Superior National Forest.
Crews are clearing fallen trees along Hwy. 2, hoping to fully contain the fire's western border and keep the road clear for passage. On the southeast corner, crews are looking for areas to hold the line, either along Hwy. 1 or the Stony River, to protect Isabella.
Believed to have been started by a lightning strike, the fire has destroyed 14 residences and 57 outbuildings and is threatening more, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Depending on weather and wind, the management team hopes to start an operation along the Stony River Grade Road, the fire's eastern perimeter — widening the road, removing logs and starting fires to create a containment line.
The U.S. Forest Service is managing a smattering of other, smaller blazes throughout northern Minnesota, including the John Ek fire, about 1,563 acres big, and the Whelp fire, about 50 acres, burning north of Tofte in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Light rain on the Gunflint Trail held those two fires in place, a fire management team announced Sunday morning.
That team is hoping to fly a four-person reconnaissance crew to the John Ek fire on Sunday to scout out portages for safe access, hoses and sprinklers. If weather allows, 17 firefighters will be brought to the Whelp fire.
Staff writer Kristen Leigh Painter contributed to this report.
Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168
