Officials watching tiny forest fire in Voyageurs park

A fire is burning in Voyageurs National Park, but it's so small and remote that officials are just keeping an eye on it.

The Tooth Lake Fire is burning 5 to 10 acres of forest about 10 miles northwest of Crane Lake.

Voyageurs National Park Fire Manager Scott Bressler said it's too remote to send firefighters in, and there are no structures nearby.

"We're looking at probably half a day hike to get to it through the woods," Bressler said. "When you're walking into an open fire environment like that and not having eyes on it, we're really putting our firefighters at risk by that — especially since there's nothing out there that it's going to hurt."

He said terrain like beaver ponds and scattered drainages are helping to keep the fire in check.

Meanwhile, the much larger Pagami Creek Fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area is 80 percent contained, and firefighters were helped over the weekend by damp weather.

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