REGIONAL – With dry and windy conditions persisting in the region, and a spate of recent wildland fires, the U.S. Forest Service is stationing more fire-fighting resources at the Ely Airport.

In the Ely area, U.S. Forest Service crews rapidly transitioned from conducting prescribed burns in the area last week to join the effort to control and extinguish the fires.

The most significant fire, located in the Skibo area east of Hoyt Lakes, burned at least 1,000 acres and was more than half contained as of Tuesday, according to Greg Peterson, of the Minnesota Incident Command System.

“Yesterday, good progress was made and containment of 57-percent was reached,” he said. “The night crew reported there was little fire activity overnight. Several hot spots remain on the fire and the helicopters will continue to make water drops.” 

The Skibo fire began around 2:30 p.m. last Friday just north of St. Louis County Highway 110 (Forest Highway 11) and two miles east of Hoyt Lakes. Temperatures that day reached 90 degrees with gusty winds. The fires were strung out in several areas along a railroad track and quickly merged into one fire nearly eight miles long.

High winds, and additional haze which moved into the area from Canadian wildfires, made it difficult to estimate the size of the fires. The cause of the Skibo fire remains under investigation.

Public and firefighter safety was the priority mission, Peterson said in an email update. “Consistent progress of suppression efforts continued this week. Ground crews established a firm perimeter around the western edge of the fire and continued to strengthen containment lines on the eastern perimeter,” he said.

High wind gusts on Saturday afternoon grounded some helicopters and limited the effectiveness of aircraft, Peterson said. Ground crews of fire engines, bulldozers, and firefighters continued to work the fire and protect private property.

On Sunday, with winds decreasing and temperatures cooling, it was “a good bucket day,” Peterson said. “Wildfire aircraft with water scooping capability can make more trips with less wind shear to douse active fires.” Temperatures were hovering in the 60s on Sunday with low humidity, but the winds had weakened a bit from Saturday, when gusts were recorded at 30 mph. Windy conditions on Monday hampered the use of fire-fighting aircraft until later in the day.