Forest Service closing Boundary Waters amid extreme heat, wildfires
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The U.S. Forest Service is temporarily closing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as concerns grow over the multiple wildfires burning in northeastern Minnesota and an extremely hot, dry weather forecast into the upcoming week.
In an alert posted on the BWCA permit website on Monday morning — and confirmed in a public announcement later in the day — officials said they are closing all entry points effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday “due to extreme weather conditions and numerous wildfires.”
The current weather “is far outside our normal summer conditions and is helping fires spread more quickly,” the Forest Service said in a news release. “Under these conditions, it isn’t safe for people to travel, camp or paddle in the wilderness. Rapid fire growth and thick smoke can make it hard to breathe, hard to see and difficult for firefighters to reach anyone who needs help.”
The Forest Service said it was canceling permits with entry dates through at least Friday, July 17.
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It’s a rare move — but not unprecedented. The BWCA was also closed in 2021 due to multiple wildfires and tinder-dry conditions.
The Forest Service said Monday that it’s notifying paddlers and hikers already in the vast, million-acre wilderness. In 2021, rangers used canoes and floatplanes to reach and notify campers.
The agency said this new closure “will remain in effect until the fires are contained, and the risk to the public has decreased.”
4:45 p.m. Monday: Wildfire smoke prompts air quality alert
Smoke from growing wildfires in northeastern Minnesota has prompted an air quality alert for that part of the state
The alert goes into effect at 7 a.m. Tuesday and runs through Thursday morning. It covers Lake and Cook counties, as well as central and northern St. Louis County, including Ely and the Iron Range.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said fine particle levels in the air may reach the purple category — meaning very unhealthy for everyone.
“High temperatures will be in the 90s across the alert area Tuesday, and the combination of wildfire smoke and extreme heat amplifies health risks,” the MPCA reported. “Heavy smoke may move further south into Minnesota Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, so the air quality alert may need to be expanded.”
4:30 p.m. Monday: Growing wildfire concerns outside the BWCA, too
While wildfires have prompted the closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area — they’re also prompting evacuation alerts outside the wilderness.
Authorities use a “Ready, Set, Go” protocol for evacuations — and as of late Monday afternoon, a “Go” order was in place for remote parts of northern St. Louis and Lake counties, along the Cloquet Line road northeast of Ely.
That was for a lightning-sparked wildfire called the Camp Fire, which Superior National Forest officials said “has picked up in activity and jumped its containment lines.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said it “has been actively working in the affected area and conducted door-to-door notifications.”
“Ready” and “Set” notices were in place around that evacuation zone, including along the Fernberg Road — and also to the northwest, for fires along the Echo Trail and near Crane Lake.
A “Ready” status alert remained in effect in Cook County, at the end of the Gunflint Trail, amid concerns about a fire in Canada that has the potential to cross over the border.
3:20 p.m. Monday: Rangers going ‘campsite to campsite’ in BWCA
Pairs of rangers or other forest staff are traveling through the BWCA by canoe to inform campers that they need to evacuate the wilderness.
“They’re going campsite to campsite and determining whether or not people are there. If they are, then they’re making contact and letting know them know that they need to leave,” said Drew Stroberg, acting Superior National Forest supervisor, in a news conference Monday afternoon.
Eight rangers were a part of that effort as of Monday afternoon, forest officials said — with some limitation on those numbers because the Forest Service is only using firefighter-qualified rangers to conduct those sweeps.
“We don’t just send anybody in there to do that ... just in case one of these fire fires blows up,” Stroberg said. “We want them to have the proper training.”
Officials said floatplanes are available to evacuate people if there is an imminent threat — but those same aircraft are also being used in firefighting efforts.
The Forest Service did not provide an estimate for how many paddlers and hikers remained in the BWCA as of Monday afternoon, but said the wilderness has about 1,900 campsites that need to be checked. Stroberg estimated that could take about a week.
3 p.m. Monday: 100 degrees in the Boundary Waters
Crane Lake — just outside the BWCA and near the Canadian border — reached 100 degrees on Monday afternoon.
The National Weather Service reported that the humidity was just 24 percent as of 2:30 p.m., and southwest winds were gusting to more than 20 mph at times — a dangerous situation for wildfires.
Ely was at 97 degrees early in the afternoon, as extreme heat and red flag warnings continued for the region.
Find forecast updates on MPR Weather’s Updraft blog.
2:50 p.m. Monday: BWCA wildfires may not be fully extinguished until there’s snow
Officials with the Superior National Forest say they’re aiming to keep the full closure of the BWCA as short as possible — but some of the fires burning in the wilderness are now so large that they may not be fully extinguished until there’s snow on the ground.
The largest fire — the Thumb Fire, about 30 miles northwest of Ely — was estimated at about 6,500 acres as of Monday afternoon. That’s up from about 600 acres on Sunday evening.
The Dark and Bear Trap fires, burning south of Lac La Croix, were estimated at about 2,000 acres as of Monday afternoon — up from about 700 acres the previous evening.
In an update Monday afternoon, acting forest supervisor Drew Stroberg said “in all likelihood, the only thing that’s going to put those out fully is snow. ... These things will likely be burning in some way, shape or form until then.”
Because of that, while the full closure will be reduced in size at some point, “I do expect that we will have some level of closure in effect around those fires for the duration of the of the season,” Stroberg said.
1:45 p.m. Monday: ‘Full suppression approach’ in battling wildfires
The U.S. Forest Service says it’s using “a full suppression approach” with wildfires that have prompted the closure of the BWCA.
“Many fires are difficult to reach safely, and current weather — hot temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity — makes fire behavior more intense,” the agency said Monday. “Dry vegetation, including trees affected by spruce budworm, is fueling faster fire spread.”
For fires within the wilderness, wildland firefighting crews are hiking or paddling in to battle the flames, said Karen Harrison, a wildfire prevention specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Water-dropping aircraft are also aiding those crews.
Harrison told MPR’s Minnesota Now that outside the BWCA, crews are using dozers and other heavy equipment.
The Forest Service said the fire danger is expected to remain high through the end of the month.
These are “not normal summer weather conditions for the area, and the Forest Service is responding in the best way possible,” the agency said.
10:30 a.m. Monday: Outfitters scramble amid canceled travel plans
The news also set off a scramble for outfitters and people who had plans to enter the BWCA this week.
“We have been trying to notify our customers. We’ve been calling people this morning, trying to notify them about their trip, so that they either don’t drive up too early for a trip that’s not happening, or we can hopefully try to rebook the trip,” Ginny Nelson, who co-owns Spirit of the Wilderness outfitters in Ely, told MPR News on Monday.
“And many of the groups — we’ve been able to rebook the trip for a later date, which has been fantastic.”
Tim Stouffer, marketing director at Piragis Northwoods Company of Ely, was also working with impacted travelers.
"Obviously we're dealing with people's vacations, and they love Ely. They love to come here and they love the Boundary Waters. So first you get this, you know, wave of disappointment, and then you know a little bit of understandable panic while people try to figure out what to do with their vacation plans,” Stouffer said.
9 a.m. Monday: St. Louis County sheriff says air support is key
Some parts of northern St. Louis County, northwest of Ely and south of Crane Lake, have been put on alert for potential evacuation if fires spread. The county uses what it calls a “Ready, Set, Go” protocol for evacuations — and those areas were under “Ready” or “Set” status.
There was also a “Ready” status alert in Cook County, at the end of the Gunflint Trail, amid concerns about a fire in Canada that has the potential to cross over the border.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay told MPR News’ Morning Edition on Monday that crews are monitoring the fires.
“The way these fires are being won right now is with air support, and for anybody that's up there, there are planes and helicopters everywhere. Fortunately there is a lot of resources going to this, and I feel assured that both the feds and the state are taking this very seriously.”
Ramsay said the precautions are disappointing, but necessary.
“That's a huge part of the economy up here, and I know everybody's concerned about losing business, however, that has to be a measured approach given the dangers that we're facing,” Ramsay said.
8:30 a.m. Monday: Swaths of BWCA closed as at least 15 fires burn
Large parts of the wilderness remained closed Monday. As of Sunday night, there were five wildfires burning within the BWCA and at least 15 others elsewhere in the Superior National Forest — though the numbers were changing as some fires merged. There were also fires burning just across the Canadian border, in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park.
“Firefighters have been making good progress on the fires; however, increased temperatures, winds, lower humidity, and lack of recent precipitation is increasing fire behavior on some fires,” Superior National Forest officials reported Sunday night.
The largest fire — known as the Thumb Fire — had burned about 600 acres at last report, in a remote part of the BWCA northwest of Ely.
Another fire of particular concern — the Sioux Fire — had burned about 60 acres near the Echo Trail northwest of Ely.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Sunday mobilized the National Guard to support firefighting efforts in northern Minnesota.
The flurry of wildfires across the Superior National Forest followed storms on July 6 that produced little rain — but did produce lightning that sparked the fires.
A ban on campfires within the BWCA also remained in effect Monday.
Hot, dry weather is forecast to continue through the week. A red flag warning for heightened wildfire danger was in effect Monday for northeast Minnesota.
