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Dan Kraker
Duluth, Minn.

'Precautionary evacuation' for residents, campers near BWCA Pagami Creek Fire

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Smoke plume
Smoke from the Pagami Creek fire on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011. "The smoke plume went straight up and then plateaued high above our heads. While fishing, it felt like a big storm was brewing, but in reality the skies were blue and clear, except for the incredible effect of the fire," said Greg Seitz, communications director for the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
Photo courtesy Greg Seitz

Some residents and campers near the Pagami Creek Fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are being asked to leave the area, now that the Pagami Creek Fire has grown to 16,000 acres.

Fire information officer Becca Manlove says the "precautionary evacuation" began Monday afternoon as strong winds and little rain offer little chance of help in fighting the fire.

"We would rather people have a little time to think and gather things and move rather than asking them on very short notice," she said.

Manlove says additional crews will be working the fire on Tuesday.

The blaze has forced Lake County and Superior National Forest officials to close several county and Forest Service roads north of Minnesota Highway 1 between Ely and Isabella.

Smoke is obscuring so much of the ground that pilots are unable to give an accurate description of how much land has been burned.

Maps, photos and more information available at visit InciWeb.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Gallery
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Pagami Creek fire
The Pagami Creek fire burns in the distance over Farm Lake on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2011. Moose Track Adventures owner Jim Blauch said the fire has gotten worse since Sunday and now looks "like an atomic bomb went off."
Photo courtesy Jim Blauch, Moose Track Adventures
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Smoke plume
Smoke from the Pagami Creek fire on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011. "The smoke plume went straight up and then plateaued high above our heads. While fishing, it felt like a big storm was brewing, but in reality the skies were blue and clear, except for the incredible effect of the fire," said Greg Seitz, communications director for the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
Photo courtesy Greg Seitz
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Fly fishing
A man fly fishes on Lake Insula on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, with the Pagami Creek smoke plume visible in the distance.
Photo courtesy Greg Seitz