John Imsdahl

Writer/Reporter

At least four large, uncontained wildfires are burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), with another burning just across the Canadian border in Quetico Provincial Park.  The fires, believed to have been started by lightning on July 7th, have continued to grow over the last week with the largest reaching almost 15,000 acres, according to the US Forest Service.  

This summer has been an abnormally dry season in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region, conditions that prompted the Forest Service to enact a fire ban in the BWCAW on July 11.  On July 14, the Forest Service enacted a complete closure of the Boundary Waters after the fires were deemed a serious threat to public safety.   

The largest of the fires, dubbed the Thumb Lake Fire, is located south of Lac La Croix in a remote area of the BWCAW.  The Thumb Lake fire had reached a size of 14,500 acres as of Wednesday afternoon and has burned the area surrounding Thumb Lake, Finger Lake and Pocket Lake.  Winds have been pushing the fire north and east towards the eastern end of Lac La Croix and towards the border with Quetico Provincial Park.  

To the south and east, the Bear Trap Fire has reportedly reached 13,500 acres and is burning primarily west of Iron Lake along the US-Canada border.  

The Camp Fire, located a few miles north of Winton, has been spreading northeast and burned much of the west end of Pipestone Bay, a popular destination on Basswood Lake.  This fire has reportedly reached a size of nearly 3,000 acres

The fourth fire, the Sioux Fire, is located near the Little Indian Sioux river near the Echo Trail north of Ely.  

While most of the fires are burning inside the Boundary Waters, officials have issued evacuation orders for some residents of St. Louis County in areas north and east of Ely as well as some near the end of the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais.  Evacuation maps can be found here. 

Here is a link to the evacuation map: https://sheriff-slcgis.hub.arcgis.com/