Boundary Waters Wilderness Closed to Public as Wildfires Surge Across Northern Minnesota
Superior National Forest has closed all public access to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a remote million-acre wilderness along the Minnesota-Canada border known for its network of interconnected lakes and rivers popular with canoeists and backcountry campers.
The closure began July 14 at 12:01am after a surge of wildfires and dangerous weather conditions swept through the forest, located in far northeastern Minnesota near Duluth and the Canadian border.
Since July 7th, the area has seen up to 19 separate wildfires with new starts reported daily. Officials say hot, dry and windy conditions well outside the normal summer pattern have caused fires to spread quickly and unpredictably. Many of the blazes were sparked by recent thunderstorms and forecasters expect more lightning with little rain to help contain new starts.
The Boundary Waters is one of the most visited wilderness areas in the country, drawing more than 150,000 people a year. Because of its size and remoteness, officials say rangers cannot safely locate and escort every visitor out individually. Instead, the Forest Service is asking everyone in the area to evacuate on their own.
Roughly 1,900 wilderness campsites fall within the closure. Visitors seeking alternatives can still access dozens of campgrounds and backcountry sites elsewhere in Superior National Forest that sit outside the wilderness boundary.
All Boundary Waters permits have been canceled, and outfitters who help visitors book trips into the area have been notified. Anyone with a canceled trip is being told to contact their outfitter directly about rescheduling, since permits for other parts of the forest remain available.
Officials say dead and dying trees, damaged by a destructive insect called the spruce budworm, are adding heavy fuel to the fires and raising the risk of fast, erratic fire behavior. Fire danger is expected to stay very high across the region through the end of July. A specialized incident management team has been brought in to help coordinate the growing firefighting response.
Crews are using a full suppression strategy on every fire currently burning. Shifting smoke, including haze drifting south from wildfires burning across the border in Ontario, is also complicating the effort, since heavy smoke can ground the aircraft used in firefighting operations.
The Forest Service is additionally warning the public against flying recreational drones near the fires, since any drone sighting forces firefighting aircraft to stop flying until crews confirm the airspace is clear. The closure will stay in effect until the fires are contained and the risk to the public has decreased.
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