Evacuation orders expanded for wildfire burning northeast of Ely

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Gov. Tim Walz says Minnesota should brace for an active wildfire season, and that he expects more fires to break out in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the coming days.

Dry conditions combined with winds and other factors have triggered a fast-spreading set of fires in the Boundary Waters. State and federal firefighting crews are working to contain the fires.

"I just kind of think we're on the front end of what's going to be a pretty long summer on on the wildfire front,” Walz said Tuesday.

He says dry, windy and hot conditions combined with acres of dead trees have created the perfect conditions for fires to start.

The BWCA is closed until at least Friday morning, and Walz deployed the National Guard to help in evacuation and fire mitigation efforts earlier this week. 

Local officials say they're rescued at least 17 people, but Walz says no injuries have been reported so far. 

More information is expected as the state begins to hold wildfire briefings tomorrow Wednesday at the State Emergency Operations Center in Blaine.

Live updates on Wildfires in Minnesota

Catharine Richert

Author

Local officials say they're rescued at least 17 people from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but Walz says no injuries have been reported so far. 

a forest fire is seen from an airplane with part of the plane wing visible in the photo

Gov. Walz says Minnesota should brace for an active wildfire season as BWCA fires rage

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