Boundary Waters Fire Triples In Size

Photo Gallery: Fire Burns In BWCA

ELY, Minn. (AP) -- A forest fire is now spreading outside the borders of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area near Ely and getting closer to homes and cabins.

The Pagami Creek forest fire has more than tripled in size since Sunday and has grown to cover more than 16,000 acres.

The blaze has forced Lake County and Superior National Forest officials to close several county and Forest Service roads north of Minnesota Highway 1 between Ely and Isabella. Some residents and campers are being asked to evacuate the area.

Becca Manlove, spokeswoman for the interagency team battling the fire, tells the Duluth News Tribune it's "a precautionary move."

Smoke is obscuring so much of the ground that pilots are unable to give an accurate description of how much land has been burned.

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