Wildfire

( AP Photo/Visit Duluth Public Relations, Gene Shaw )

This photo provided by Visit Duluth Public Relations, smoke fills the sky from a fire outside the borders of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area near Ely, Min. on Sept. 11, 2011. 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. The National Weather Service in Gaylord reports that Northwest winds from a cold front that moved across the region, helped push a plume of smoke from a large wildfire in the arrowhead of Minnesota into Northern Michigan overnight.