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Minnesota Wildfires
MPR News Staff

Crews battling wildfire near site of prescribed burn in Superior National Forest

Flames from a wildfire move along the floor of a forest
Crews continued battling a wildfire in the Superior National Forest near State Highway 1, northwest of Isabella, on Thursday. It started near the site of a prescribed burn.
Superior National Forest

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Updated 12:15 p.m.

Superior National Forest officials said crews continued battling a wildfire of more than 200 acres Thursday near Minnesota Highway 1, northwest of Isabella.

Authorities said the Fry Fire started Wednesday afternoon near the site of a prescribed burn, close to the Little Isabella River Campground.

A firefighter stands near a truck as they spray water on a wildfire
The Fry Fire started Wednesday afternoon near the site of a prescribed burn, close to the Little Isabella River Campground.
Superior National Forest

It was a “spot fire” that “started within the prescribed project area, beyond the planned burn area,” Superior National Forest officials said.

“Water-dropping aircraft were called in to suppress the fire and were effective in slowing the immediate fire spread,” officials said in a news release Thursday morning. “Cloud cover moved over the fire area later (Wednesday) afternoon and humidity levels increased which helped ease fire activity. Additional crews and engines were brought in to assist working on the fire.”

Ground crews continued working late into the night on Wednesday. They “returned this morning and are engaging to secure the fire edge.”

The Fry Fire was estimated at 209 acres in size and 0 percent contained as of Thursday morning, with an additional 56 acres burned by the planned fire.

The Superior National Forest has been conducting several planned, prescribed burns this spring to reduce the amount of dead and downed timber in those areas.

The Fry Fire started only a few miles from areas burned in the destructive Greenwood Fire in 2021. That fire burned more than 26,000 acres and destroyed more than a dozen homes and cabins.