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The U.S. Forest Service is closing public access to a large swath of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness because of multiple wildfires and continued dry conditions. 

Campfires are also banned throughout the popular wilderness area, effective Saturday, July 11. 

The Forest Service reports that 17 wildfires started this week. Four are burning inside the Boundary Waters, the rest are outside the wilderness boundary. Two of the fires are fully contained. The fires burning in the Boundary Waters are located in the northwest part of the wilderness, between Ely and Crane Lake, north of the Echo Trail and south of Lac LaCroix along the Canadian border. 

The Forest Service is closing public access to areas near three of those fires: the Bear Trap, Thumb and Wolfpack fires. As a result, several popular entry points to the wilderness area are temporarily closed, including Angleworm Lake, Little Indian Sioux River North, Moose/Portage River North, Mudro Lake and South Hegman Lake. 

Four trails are also closed: the Angleworm, Blandin, Herriman and Sioux Hustler Trails. 

The Forest Service said it issued the closure order to protect public health and safety, for firefighters and the general public. 

Several wildfires were reported July 7, the day after a storm system moved across northeast Minnesota, bringing thunder and lightning but little precipitation. Several more fires have sprouted up in the days since. 

Many fires are small, around an acre in size or less. But some have grown larger. The Thumb Fire, which started on July 7 from a single tree lightning strike, has grown to 20 acres in size as it burns in a remote section of the BWCA south of Lac LaCroix that is difficult to access. 

The Chub Fire, burning southwest of Crane Lake, is 10 acres in size. The Sioux Fire, which started Thursday north of the Echo Trail near the Jeanette Campground, has burned six acres.  Firefighters are on the ground working to contain that fire and others that are located in places that are easier to access. Aircraft are dropping water on several of the blazes in the more hard-to-reach areas. 

In addition to banning campfires, the Forest Service is prohibiting the use of stoves or grills fueled by charcoal or any type of wood in the Boundary Waters. Campers are allowed to use gas or propane cook stoves. 

Forest officials remind people to be extremely careful with any potential source that could ignite a fire, including cigarette smoking, dragging chains, or riding ATVs or other recreational vehicles. They urge campers to keep any campfires outside the wilderness area small, and to make sure they are cold to the touch after they’re put out. 

The Forest Service says it will continue to monitor conditions and make daily updates as needed. 

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Dan Kraker

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The U.S. Forest Service is closing public access to a large swath of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area northwest of Ely, and the agency has also banned campfires, as several small wildfires burn in the wilderness. 

A map shows closed access points for the BWCAW.

Wildfires force Forest Service to close access to parts of Boundary Waters, ban campfires

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