Wildfires force Forest Service to close access to parts of Boundary Waters, ban campfires
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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.
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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.
The closure area covers about 225,000 acres out of the million-acre wilderness. Forest rangers are paddling through the affected part of the wilderness, evacuating campers from the closure area.
“There’s a lot of fuels out there, the weather’s hot, it’s dry, and the forecast is not looking very great,” said Superior National Forest spokesperson Joy VanDrie.
But VanDrie stressed that more than 75 percent of the wilderness area remains open.
Jason Zabokrtsky, owner of Ely Outfitting Company, said he’s been busy talking to customers who have permits to enter the wilderness in the closed area. He said some have canceled and others have rescheduled or altered their trips.
The closure area includes very popular entry points where permits get snatched up quickly.
But he said the impacts aren’t as severe as in 2021, when the Forest Service closed the entire wilderness area because of wildfire danger.
“This feels very different, but it will depend on the weather and fire activity. My biggest concern is having the available resources to manage these fires appropriately.”
VanDrie said fire crews and wilderness rangers from neighboring forests are aiding efforts.
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.
Correction (July 11, 2026): An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the company owned by Jason Zabokrtsky.
