Rangers recover canoes, gear abandoned by campers who fled BWCA fires

After making significant progress in containing the wildfires in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that have been burning for more than three weeks now, U.S. Forest Service rangers were able to recover gear left behind by canoeists and campers who had to flee a rapidly spreading wildfire earlier this month.

On July 13, the extremely hot and dry weather and strong winds blew up the Camp Fire, which quickly flared up and raced more than 4.5 miles.

Campers and canoeists on Pipestone Bay, on the west end of Basswood Lake northeast of Ely, had to be evacuated in a hurry, leaving behind canoes, food, fishing poles and other gear.

Last Sunday, Superior National Forest wilderness rangers returned to Pipestone Bay to assess fire damage to campsites. They also recovered the abandoned gear, including nine canoes and numerous packs of food and other equipment.

The items were transported by canoe out of the wilderness area to be returned to their owners.

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