Cooler weather and precipitation calms Pagami Creek fire

At press time, cooler temperatures and finally, some rain had helped dampen the Pagami Creek fire. Fire officials said the fire is now 87 percent contained. The size of the fire is approximately 92,682 acres.

On Wednesday, October 13, crews were nearing completion of the line along the northeastern boundary of the fire near Fishdance Lake. Crews also continued with line construction on the eastern side of the fire near Ferne Lake and the southern portion of the fire near Bog Lake. Aircraft supported fire crews with suppression activities and transport of supplies and back haul. Crews also continue with mop-up and patrol and will begin to back haul over 75 miles of hose from areas of the fire that are contained.

Road closures remain in effect in some areas adjacent to the Pagami Creek fire as a precaution. Visitors can see an updated list of closures at www.inciweb.org/incident/2534.

The Pagami Creek fire was discovered about 13 miles east of Ely on August 18, 2011. It is believed to have been started by lightning strike.

When the fire began, U.S. Forest Service Superior National Forest Fire Management Specialists conducted risk assessments and determined that letting the fire burn would provide resource management benefits such as preparing seed beds for pine regeneration and decreasing fuels for future wildfires. Early news releases about the fire said as the fire burned to the south it was reaching older burned areas. The Forest Service predicted that those earlier burns would function like fuel breaks and decrease the likelihood of the fire moving further south.

However, on September 12 the fire became a plume-driven event with a finger of the fire making an unprecedented 16-mile run to the east reaching the edge of Polly Lake. By September 14, the fire had grown to nearly 100,000 acres rivaling the 1918 Cloquet fire.

At one point, almost 900 personnel were assigned to the fire. At press time, fire officials said there were now 452 personnel involved with the fire. Resources still on the fire include eight hotshot (Type 1) crews, six Type 2 crews, four engines, 0 dozers, one water tender, three camp crews and other personnel. The following air resources were available: three Type 1 helicopters, three Type 3 helicopters, two CL 215, and three Beaver aircraft on floats.