KARE 11 reports the fire was considered 80 percent contained as of Tuesday morning. The blaze has burned more than 1600 acres near Nimrod. Investigators are sill looking into what caused the wildfire.

Fire crews and a wind switch combined to beat back a raging forest 216-acre fire Thursday that burned to the edge of popular tourist town Ely. Some nervous residents were briefly evacuated, but no injuries were reported and officials say no occupied homes were lost.

Minnesota officials have counted 997 wildfires in the state this year, surpassing 2011 by about 300 fires. But the average for the state is a little more than 1,500 wildfires, and in some years in recent decades Minnesota has had as many as 3,000 blazes.

Fire officials have declared a 175-acre wildfire that threatened the popular northeastern Minnesota tourist town of Ely to be completely contained. The containment effort got help from about 1.5 inches of rain that fell this weekend.

Two airplanes that each carry 11,000 gallons of water are joining the fight against the Boundary Waters wildfire. Crews hope they will help bring more of the fire under control. Firefighters are making incremental progress containing the blaze. Officials worry increasing winds this week will only make their efforts harder.

Gov. Mark Dayton is ordering the Minnesota National Guard to help battle the blaze that has burned at least 24,000 acres near Greenbush. Officials say the fire started Wednesday afternoon and has spread rapidly due to brisk winds.