Firefighters worked into the night Tuesday to contain and monitor a fire that was reported at 5:14 p.m. in a pine plantation near the junction of Highways 64 and 200 in Hendrickson Township.
Twenty-seven acres of Potlatch and county tax-forfeited land burned. Billowing smoke was seen for a 20-mile radius when the fire was at its zenith.
The Lakeport Fire Department, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Resource Management of the Bureau of Indian Affairs responded.
A water-scooping CL-215 dipped into Kabekona Lake, two single-engine air tankers dropped fire retardant and a helicopter arrived to fight the blaze, according to Lakeport fire chief Gary Roerick.
A combined crew of 40 to 50 firefighters extinguished the fire by about 10 p.m. DNR crew members and equipment remained on the scene through the night. A patrol was expected to monitor the site through Thursday.
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DNR incident commander Paul Pooler estimated a 50-75 percent mortality rate for the affected red and jack pines.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Greg Vollhaber at the Bemidji DNR office, 218-755-3897.
