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Calmer winds slow growth of Minnesota wildfire

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Sep 14, 2011 at 8:29 am

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service expects calmer winds Wednesday will slow the growth of a large wildfire in Minnesota's north woods.

Hazy smoke from the fire, which has spread to at least 100,000 acres in northeastern Minnesota, drifted hundreds of miles away Tuesday with haze and a smoky smell settling over Chicago and Milwaukee.

Forest Service spokeswoman Lisa Radosevich-Craig says the growth of the fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is expected to be less than a quarter of a mile Wednesday because of lighter winds.

Radosevich-Craig says the wildfire is the biggest in terms of acreage in northeast Minnesota. She says 200 highly-experienced firefighters from federal and state agencies are expected to arrive Wednesday and Thursday to battle the fire that was ignited by a lightning strike Aug. 18.