The DNR has is urging people to be careful with outdoor fires and requiring them to obtain a permit before burning brush because of unseasonably dry conditions. A fire on Monday in Polk County burned 750 acres of woods and land. Permits are available from local fire wardens or the DNR.

The DNR says temperatures in the 70s are expected in the next few days, which could help fuel the fire. The area has received some rain, but the DNR says hot spots could flare up as vegetation dries.

Fire officials tell the Associated Press the funding for personnel, supplies, lodging, fuel and equipment comes from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the Interior.

The DNR is closing two zones to moose hunters but will allow limited bull-hunting in others. The agency has been reviewing the rules as the moose population continues to fall. The state is issuing fewer than 90 permits this year.

Last week's snowfall helped firefighters, but was not enough to extinguish several blazes burning in northwestern Minnesota. The largest is a fire near Red Lake that has burned more than 38 square miles and is about 30 percent contained.

Forest Service officials tell the Ely Echo more than 100 campsites were damaged by the fire and won't re-open for a few years. The good news -- that's only five percent of the campsites in the BWCAW.

U-S Forestry Officials vastly underestimated the beginnings of a wildfire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Star Tribune reports internal memos show an initial wait-and-see approach set the stage for the blaze to explode into the largest fire the state has seen in almost a hundred years.

Bullwinkle Moose hailed from Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, but his species may become just a memory in the state. A DNR aerial survey shows northeastern Minnesota has already lost half its moose. Scientists don't know what's causing the animals to die off. The DNR doubts there's anything the state can do.