Campfires banned in parts of BWCA

Stephanie Hemphill
St. Paul, Minn.

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Blowdown
The blowdown storm on July 4, 1999, damaged timber on an estimated 400,000 acres of forest in the BWCA. Forest officials have been concerned about the possibility of fire in that area ever since.
Photo courtesy of the Superior National Forest

Campfires will be banned in the blowdown area of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, starting at midnight tonight.

Campers can't build fires or use charcoal stoves in the blowdown area because of dry conditions, and a lot of dead wood still on the ground from a massive storm in 1999. The heavy fuels pose a high risk of big wildfires.

Maps of the region are available at National Forest Service offices and on its Web site.

Also, the Forest Service is closing the Kekekabic Trail east of Disappointment Lake and the Border Route Trail with its connecting trails.

The restrictions will continue until further notice.

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