The U.S. Attorney’s office for Minnesota says Canadian National Railway has paid $1.25 million to settle damage caused by a 2016 wildfire that burned national forest land in northeastern Minnesota. The wildfire, known as the Skibo Fire, burned nearly 1,000 acres east of Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, including nearly 400 acres within Superior National Forest. The federal government alleged the May 2016 fire was ignited by a railroad locomotive that had mechanical failure. The government says the fire cost more than $1.5 million to suppress and forced the evacuation of several homes in the remote community of Skibo.
