Wildfire forces closures in parts of Minnesota’s Superior National Forest

A growing wildfire in Minnesota forced the U.S. Forest Service on Saturday to close a popular 1 million-acre area of Superior National Forest as hundreds of firefighters attempt to battle the blaze. 

The Superior National Forest division of the Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said in a Facebook post Saturday afternoon that it had decided to close the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota. 

The closure, which is expected to remain in place for a week, was “due to active and increasing fire activity, extreme drought [and] limited resources,” according to the forest agency. 

Under the order, no entry permits will be given to visitors wishing to enter Boundary Waters, one of the most visited federally designated wilderness areas, according to The Associated Press. 

The Forest Service said the closures would apply to “all lands, waters, trails, portages, campsite, canoe routes and Wilderness entry points in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.” 

“The Forest has notified permit holders and outfitters and is cancelling permits today through August 27,” the agency said, adding that all existing permit holders would be “fully reimbursed.” 

“The Forest will reopen portions of the Wilderness and/or some uses when it is safe,” the Forest Service continued. 

The agency went on to say that it “did not make this decision lightly,” adding, “We understand it will have significant impacts on business and our visitors.” 

“Thank you for your cooperation and understanding,” the agency wrote. 

The Greenwood fire, the largest active fire in the state, remained uncontrolled as of Saturday as it spread to about 14 square miles, with 250 firefighters currently at the scene fighting the blaze, according to the AP. 

Roughly 245 homes and cabins in the area had received evacuation orders from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Clark McCreedy, a spokesman for the multiagency team fighting the wildfire, told the Star Tribune on Saturday that lower temperatures, higher humidity and cloudy skies in the area could help calm the blaze. 

“Enough to settle the dust, little more than that,” he said. “With fire, we’re always at the mercy of the weather.”

The Greenwood fire is just one of roughly 100 wildfires currently burning across the U.S. amid widespread drought conditions, especially in California. 

Over the past month, firefighters have been battling a wildfire burning across California’s Sierra Nevada, the first wildfire in the area in recorded history.