Amazing photo of Minnesota wildfire

Greg Seitz took this amazing photo of the Pagami Creek fire, a wild blaze that's been burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness since August 18. Fire fighters and rain have managed to contain 30% of the fire, as of today.

Originally, the fire was centered on the Wilderness area. Because it started naturally, with a lightning strike, officials kept it under observation, instead of actively trying to put it out. Fires are a natural process in wilderness areas and the idea was to let this one take its course. Then, last week, a combination of high winds and drought allowed the fire to suddenly balloon in size—spreading from 1,000 acres to 93,000 acres in the course of a couple days. The blow up produced plumes of smoke that changed the smell of the air in the Twin Cities and were visible from space. It's the largest fire to hit Minnesota since 1918.

This shot was taken on Saturday, September 10, at Lake Insula.

Via Steve Silberman