Stewart Trail Fire Grows to 375 Acres as Highway 61 Stays Closed at 0% Containment
Updated
Updated · Northern News Now · May 16
Stewart Trail Fire Grows to 375 Acres as Highway 61 Stays Closed at 0% Containment
3 articles · Updated · Northern News Now · May 16
375 acres were burning north of Two Harbors by Saturday morning, up from an estimated 20-50 acres Friday, with the Stewart Trail fire still 0% contained.
Multiple local, state and federal agencies worked overnight as conditions allowed to build containment lines, while numerous aircraft dropped water and retardant and officials warned drones would halt airdrops.
Highway 61 remained closed between County Highway 2 in Two Harbors and County Highway 106 in Castle Danger, with northbound traffic detoured via County Highway 11 toward Silver Bay.
Multiple structures have been damaged, businesses along Highway 61 evacuated and closed, and Lake County activated a Ready, Set, Go evacuation plan with the Two Harbors Hockey Arena serving as a checkpoint.
A Type 3 MNICS incident management team took over Saturday as near-critical fire weather persisted, though lower wind speeds were expected.
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