‘Unhealthy’ air quality expected in eastern Minnesota through Monday afternoon due to wildfire smoke

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Wildfires continue to burn in northeastern Minnesota, but Drew Stroberg, acting supervisor for the Superior National Forest, said there’s been “pretty benign fire activity" over the past week, thanks in part to rainfall. This sets the stage to open parts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness next week. 

Stroberg said the BWCA will be open for day-use permits at some entry points in Cook County starting Monday, and barring any fire activity, officials will allow overnight camping access in Lake and Cook Counties on July 30th.

“We've had, you know, pretty good rains, which has definitely helped tamp down the fires,” Stroberg said on a webinar hosted by the Friends of the Boundary Waters, an advocacy organization. “But that being said, we need about an inch of rain a week to be able to keep up and keep the fire behavior down to where we need it to be at.”

Still, rain can also bring more lightning, which is a problem when there’s so much dry organic material around to serve as fuel. Stroberg noted the layer of duff, which consists of material like pine needles and leaves, sitting on top of the soil in much of the wilderness.

In some cases, the duff layer is three feet deep.

“So that fire in a lot of places is burning three feet below the surface, where you can't even really see the smoke, but it's hot down there,” he said. “So the rain that we've got is helpful, but it's not going to get three feet into the duff.” 

With the exception of the Camp Fire and the Sioux Fire, Stroberg said the fires are burning in very remote areas accessible only by canoe or float plane, which has impeded firefighting efforts, especially on the ground.

“Typically for a fire that size, you're looking at 100 to 200 firefighters, and if we put them in there, we have to feed them. We need to have a place for them to sleep. We need to have supplies, like hoses and hose couplings and pumps and all that stuff. But we have to get in there, and you know doing that by canoe is very difficult, if not impossible for a fire that size.”

Stroberg said that’s why firefighting efforts have focused around communities, such as Ely,the Echo Trail and the Fernberg Road, where there are homes, commercial buildings and critical infrastructure.

Stroberg said ultimately the wildfires will burn until later into the year.

“There will be fire in the Boundary Waters in some way, shape or form until we get snow. That’s what's going to put these fires out,” he said. “Our goal is to try to keep them as small as we can.”

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Live updates: Wildfires in Minnesota

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Rainfall has helped slow wildfire activity in northeastern Minnesota, allowing parts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to reopen for day use beginning Monday. But officials caution that additional rain will be needed to keep fire behavior in check.

A white pickup truck is parked just behind a wooden barricade on a street.

Jon Stegenga for MPR News

A street next to a school is packed with fire response trucks.

Fire officials hope for more rain, wider access to the BWCA next week, but threats linger

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