North Shore wildfire prompts closure of part of the Superior Hiking Trail
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Wildland firefighting crews are still working to contain a fire burning in a remote section of the North Shore.
The Crosby Fire, burning in George H. Crosby Manitou State Park, has now prompted the closure of a section of the Superior Hiking Trail.
The fire was first detected on Wednesday, burning on a remote ridge within the park, a couple miles inland from Lake Superior and State Highway 61.
As of Friday morning, the fire was mapped at 210 acres in size and officials said it’s 35 percent contained. The fire is burning in “mixed maple hardwoods and fall leaf litter,” according to the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center.
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“Access into that area is somewhat challenging just because of the steep terrain,” Leanne Langeberg, a spokesperson with the fire center, told MPR News on Thursday.
In an update Friday, officials said firefighters have been “using leaf blowers and hand tools to clear out the leaf litter and other vegetation that can catch and carry fire or hold heat.”
Crews on the ground have been aided by water drops from aircraft.
While the state park and its backpack campsites remain open, authorities said a section of the Superior Hiking Trail was temporarily closed, starting Friday, “out of an abundance of caution.”
“A predicted change in weather on Friday calls for increased and shifting winds from the south to northwest, creating a potential to push the fire toward the trail,” the fire center said in a news release.
The trail is closed between Lake County Road 7 — also known as Cramer Road — on the west, and the Caribou Falls State Wayside along Highway 61 on the east.
The fire is not affecting traffic along Highway 61, or access to other state parks along the lakeshore. With sunshine and mild weather in the forecast — and fall leaves still near peak color — this weekend is sure to be particularly busy along the North Shore.
Authorities are asking people to not fly drones in the area because they interfere with firefighting aircraft.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined. Conditions have been increasingly dry across much of northern Minnesota, with many areas seeing rainfall deficits of 2 to 4 inches over the past two months.
