Firefighters battling wildfires across northeastern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest made significant progress this week after overnight rain aided suppression efforts, though high winds continue to complicate containment work more than two weeks into the fire season’s most destructive stretch.
A week ago, authorities in northeastern Minnesota took the rare step of ordering the closure and evacuation of the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest, after scores of lightning strikes on July 7 sparked some 16 fires in the dry pine forests across the Arrowhead, several of which grew rapidly between July 8 and July 12 amid a heat wave. Roughly 68,000 acres had burned on the U.S. side of the border as of Monday, a total comparable to the 2007 Ham Lake Fire, the second-largest fire in Minnesota this century.
Conditions improved somewhat this week, despite conditions being terribly poor only a week ago. Per a Star Tribune update published Tuesday, crews are making “real good” progress fighting the fires, aided by rain that fell overnight Monday, though high winds of up to 25 mph out of the north-northwest remain a concern for officials. The Little Knife Fire, which originated in Ontario before crossing the border, is among the wildfires included in the total acreage. Cook County officials noted in a public safety update that the Little Knife Fire’s mapped acreage stood at 4,958 acres as of July 20.
The Camp Fire, which prompted evacuations along the Fernberg corridor northeast of Ely, had briefly been declared fully contained before conditions changed. According to a KAXE report on a potential reopening, Superior National Forest Supervisor Tom Hall said Monday that officials are evaluating a partial reopening of the wilderness, which closed entirely on July 14 for only the third time in its history. The Camp Fire is now estimated at 4,400 acres, and combined containment on a dozen smaller fires burning between Orr and Crane Lake stands at 57%.
The economic toll has been steep for a region that depends heavily on summer tourism. The wildfires forced the cancellation of Ely’s popular Blueberry Arts Festival, scheduled for this coming weekend. Outfitters and lodges along the Gunflint Trail have also reported a wave of cancellations during what would normally be peak season.
Fire behavior experts have cautioned that full containment may still be far off. In a July 15 Star Tribune report, Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology, said the larger blazes were “way beyond the ability of firefighting crews to suppress” without help from the weather, adding they could smolder until snowfall.
Minnesota officials have tightened restrictions in the meantime. Cook County’s update noted that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources activated Class IV burning restrictions beginning Monday for Cook, Koochiching, Lake and northern St. Louis counties, along with George Washington State Forest and Scenic State Park. Community meetings on the Little Knife Fire were held this week at the Gunflint Trail Fire Hall and Lutsen Town Hall.
