The Lake County Sheriff's Office had ordered residents of about 245 homes and cabins to evacuate in areas around McDougal Lake, Sand Lake, the Highway 2 corridor, and north of Highway 1 in the vicinity of East and West Chub Lakes, Jackpot Lake and Slate Lake. That means there are fewer visitors in the western reaches of the wilderness. Rangers are beginning on the east side of the BWCA and moving to western areas where a large closure order has been in place for more than a month due to concerns about wildfires just across the border in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park. “Currently we have wilderness rangers paddling in the Boundary Waters to sweep people from the areas, and we’re trying to do a systematic sweep," Gilkeson told Minnesota Public Radio. About 250 firefighters were battling the blaze.Įfforts are now underway to reach paddlers and hikers across the vast wilderness, said Superior National Forest spokesperson Joanna Gilkeson. The Greenwood fire in the forest remained uncontrolled Saturday and had spread to about 14 square miles (36 square kilometers). The Boundary Waters in the Superior National Forest is one of the most visited federally designated wilderness areas. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stopped issuing entry permits Saturday, closing all land, water, trails, portages, campsites, canoe routes and wilderness entry points until Aug. Forest Service on Saturday closed the popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota as the largest active wildfire in the state threatens the 1-million-acre property. That's a perception outfitters say they continually have to battle, as strong winds and the ongoing drought cause continued extreme fire danger across the region.FINLAND, Minn.
And the entire Boundary Waters is not on fire." Boundary Waters is just 1.1 million of that. “And this Superior National Forest is 3 million acres. People don't realize this is out there,” said Barrett. "There are 254 backcountry campsites that go pretty much unused. Instead, they're also planning a trip just outside the wilderness area. She has a group of six coming Thursday who chose not to cancel. She owns Women's Wilderness Discovery in Ely, and says she had to choke back tears of frustration when she first learned about the closure.īut now she says she's staying positive. That's what Peta Barrett is advising her clients. “And so just like the overwhelming amount of support for us, and just like, ‘Oh, you guys can still have a great time, you just have to shift it.’" " ‘maybe you could try this, or I've heard this place is great,’” she said. But he says he's had dozens of trips canceled, which has been hard for his business to absorb. But at this point in the season, there aren't many options to reschedule them. “And to have sort of this immediate closure and have to tell somebody who's traveled from Texas or California, and are standing in front of us ready to go out for a week in the woods, that actually everything's changed and your Boundary Waters vacation is off, is really difficult,” said Zabokrtsky. People from all across the United States travel to Ely to experience the Boundary Waters, and for many it has taken a lot of planning and expense to get to northern Minnesota. “And as you can see, looking around, it's empty." "Usually, this time of the morning, we're bustling - getting people on the water, loading canoes, getting them out to their entry points,” said Jason Zabokrtsky, who owns Ely Outfitting Company. On Monday though, the only cars with canoes strapped to their tops were headed out of town.
Typically, in August, Ely is swarming with people either beginning, or returning from, canoe trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
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