Fire near Red Lake burning over 25K acres

Minnesota fire management officials said the North Minnie fire near Red Lake continued to burn over 24,700 acres.

The fire is the largest of several burning in northwestern Minnesota. It threatens private land, timber resources, a major power line and a few private hunting cabins in Beltrami Island State Forest.

Fire information officer Gill Knight said the North Minnie fire was 30 percent contained.

"Priorities are to continue to establish a containment line around the fire and then work on those areas of peat," he said. "If we don't get in there and get moisture on the peat, it can actually sit there literally over the winter and then come back up again."

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Knight said 150 people were working on the fire.

"Things seem to be looking real good right now," Knight said. "There has not been much movement the last couple of days because of the weather we've had -- the snow and cold temperatures and whatnot. But we are still patrolling the lines and watching for areas where there are peat bogs that are burning."

He added that roads closed in the area will reopen as soon as firefighters no longer need them.

Firefighters had the County Road 27 fire near Karlstad about 90 percent contained. The Viking fire, named for the nearby town of Viking, was 80 percent contained. Other fires in the Wannaska Complex have been contained.