Lightning strikes cause two wildfires in Boundary Waters, forest service says

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service say that lightning caused two new fires to pop up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness over the weekend.

The Tiger and Loon fires are in the LaCroix Ranger District of the Superior National Forest, a remote area of the wilderness. As of Monday morning, the Loon Fire is about 10 acres in size and the Tiger fire is only 1 acre, the forest service says.

Crew members dropped water from a helicopter into the Tiger Fire, which was contained by Monday morning. The forest service says 10 firefighters were working to corral the flames.

Another 10 firefighters were transported to the Loon Fire, where helicopters were also assisting with water drops.

"Fire-weakened trees are a concern for firefighter safety so crews will need to carefully evaluate access routes and locations to set up pumps and hose," the forest service said regarding the Loon Fire on Monday.

Officials added that the Birch Bay Fire, a 35-acre fire which burned about 8 miles north of Ely, was 100% contained on Saturday. Crews will continue to patrol and monitor the area.

Due to dry conditions in northern Minnesota, officials with Superior National Forest instituted a campfire ban in the Boundary Waters through the end of the month. Officials say gas and propane cook stoves are allowed within the forest but stoves or grills fueled by wood or charcoal are not.