Watch: Officials provide updates on wildfires in northeastern Minnesota

Officials managing the response to the wildfires burning in northeastern Minnesota will provide an update on firefighting efforts Tuesday afternoon

The media briefing in Ely is scheduled for 1 p.m. and it will be streamed live here.

More than 1,000 firefighters and support personnel are working to contain the lightning-caused fires that have been burning for weeks. They’ve made progress, and more Boundary Waters entry points are reopening this week.

But warm, windy, dry weather over the weekend led to an uptick in fire activity. Fire weather forecasters caution that northern Minnesota remains very dry — and above-normal wildfire potential is expected to last through late fall.

Overall, the wildfires have burned nearly 70,000 acres.

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