Greenwood Fire Still At 26,000 Acres; BWCA Fires See Little Growth Due To Recent Weather

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Rain up north has helped to keep the Greenwood Fire from growing since Thursday.

It is currently just under 26,000 acres, which is about the same size as the city of St. Cloud.

Two other fires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - the John Ek and Whelp fires - also have not seen much growth recently due to the weather. Both fires began due to lighting strikes.

However, the fire risk is still high, which is why the Superior National Forest banned camping outside of developed campsites.

The Gunflint Trail is not in the evacuation zone yet, but residents are getting ready to leave if the situation worsens.

It's not the first time people in the area have gone through a similar situation. In May of 2007, a campfire started the Ham Lake Fire. It went on to burn 75,000 acres and destroy hundreds of properties.

The Gunflint Lodge survived, but neighboring buildings did not. It's why they're preparing for the worst once again.

"We have sprinklers throughout the property. Tons of work has been done on that, so we feel we're pretty protected," said John Fredrickson, owner of the Gunflint Lodge. "Because people up here after the Ham Lake Fire, it was evident which places had sprinklers and which did not."

The Gunflint Trail community says it has always taken care of each other, and that's not going to change anytime soon.