Winter storm warnings continue in northern Minnesota 

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Pawlenty planned to fly over the area near Seagull Lake, near the
end of the Gunflint Trail, and meet with officials from agencies
fighting the fire.

      The Cavity Lake Fire is burning in the blowdown area of the
BWCA, where a storm flattened millions of trees on July 4, 1999.

      The fire is in an area of heavy blowdown that's not accessible 
by portage or trail, about 50 miles
northwest of Grand Marais in northeastern Minnesota.

      Pawlenty ordered the National Guard
on Saturday to send helicopters and crews to support firefighting
efforts throughout Minnesota, where temperatures pushing 100 degrees and
dry conditions had created dangerous conditions.


      His order came as the state braced for its hottest weather since
1995.

      Fire conditions were so critical that the weather service issued
a "red flag warning" for the northern two-thirds of Minnesota.
The weather service said a combination of strong winds, low
humidity and hot temperatures would create "explosive fire growth
potential."

      The Minnesota Army National Guard sent two UH-60 Blackhawk
helicopters and crews to Bemidji to assist in firefighting in
northern Minnesota so regular firefighters could concentrate on the
BWCA fire.

      Authorities said the fire in the BWCA, dubbed the Cavity Lake
Fire, was burning over 1,400 to 1,500 acres by Saturday evening.

      However, plans were to let the fire spread eastward to an area
where controlled burning had been implemented and where it would be
easier to bring under control, said Ron Stoffel, wildfire
suppression supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources.

      "The fire is now burning in heavy blowdown where we really
can't do a lot with it," Stoffel said.

      The blowdown area is where a powerful windstorm July 4, 1999,
flattened millions of trees in and around the BWCA. Since then,
authorities have worked hard to prevent fires in that zone, fearing
they could expand into a huge conflagration.

      Stoffel said three water-scooping planes used to slow the fire
earlier Saturday were pulled off so the fire could burn for a day
or two until it reached the target area where ground crews could
work on putting it out.

      Putting crews on the ground in the area where the fire was
burning Saturday was too dangerous, he said.

      Crews from Indiana and Missouri also are being brought in to
help fight the blaze, he said.

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Gov. Tim Pawlenty travels to northeastern
Minnesota Sunday to check on a fire that's burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  



Hot weather fuels BWCA fire

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