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Minnesota Wildfires

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Study estimates $9M economic loss due to BWCA wildfires, parts of region have recovered

Study estimates $9M economic loss due to BWCA wildfires, parts of region have recovered

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Minnesota Duluth looked at the number of visitors lost in July in Grand Marais and Ely. In Cook County, where Grand Marais is located, business leaders say they’ve been able to recover.
by Nina Moini and Aleesa Kuznetsov

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How a caterpillar native to Minnesota made its forests fuel for wildfires

How a caterpillar native to Minnesota made its forests fuel for wildfires

A native insect called the spruce budworm has killed trees across more than 2,000 square miles of northern Minnesota forests, creating dry tinder fuel in the areas burned by the Camp House and Jenkins Creek wildfires. 
by Dan Kraker

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Feds add charges against alleged shooter of firefighting plane

Feds add charges against alleged shooter of firefighting plane

A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Aug. 29 that charges Pettit, 49, with damaging an aircraft and discharging a firearm in relation to a violent crime. The charges carry between 10 and 20 years in prison.
by Matt Sepic

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Wildfire smoke in Minnesota: How to best protect your health and your home

Wildfire smoke in Minnesota: How to best protect your health and your home

Wildfire smoke is becoming a recurring seasonal hazard across Minnesota and beyond, with air quality alerts increasingly common. Here’s what to know as smoky skies become less of an exception and more of a seasonal pattern.
by MPR News Staff

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Why the devastating Boundary Waters wildfires are critical for a healthy Minnesota forest

Why the devastating Boundary Waters wildfires are critical for a healthy Minnesota forest

The wildfires that burned 70,000 acres of the canoe wilderness this summer left behind a charred landscape, but also set the stage for a rebirth of northern Minnesota’s boreal forest.
by Dan Kraker

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Northern Minnesota wildfires now fully contained; BWCAW forests already sprouting new growth

Northern Minnesota wildfires now fully contained; BWCAW forests already sprouting new growth

The wildfires burning for more than two months in northern Minnesota are finally fully contained, according to officials with the Superior National Forest. Even in some of the most intensely fire damaged forestland, regrowth and forest regeneration is already underway.
by Dan Kraker and David Schaper

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Forest Service ends campfire ban in the Boundary Waters

Forest Service ends campfire ban in the Boundary Waters

As of noon Monday, campfires are allowed again in open sections of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and other backcountry and remote areas in northeastern Minnesota.
by MPR News Staff

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