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This Thursday, August 19, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Forest Service, a fast-growing forest fire rises in the background in northeastern Minnesota. U.S. Forest Service officials have warned homeowners and cabins fleeing a fire in northeastern Minnesota that winds could change this weekend, endangering their properties. Dozens of people received the notice at a public meeting on Thursday evening, August 19, 2021 in the small town of Finland, where officials gave them the latest news on the Greenwood Lake fire and its strategy for try to stop it. (Nick Petrack / US Forest Service via AP)
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This Thursday, August 19, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Forest Service, a fast-growing forest fire rises in the background in northeastern Minnesota. U.S. Forest Service officials have warned homeowners and cabins fleeing a fire in northeastern Minnesota that winds could change this weekend, endangering their properties. Dozens of people received the notice at a public meeting on Thursday evening, August 19, 2021 in the small town of Finland, where officials gave them the latest news on the Greenwood Lake fire and its strategy for try to stop it. (Nick Petrack / US Forest Service via AP)
FINLAND, Minnesota (AP) – The U.S. Forest Service closed the popular wilderness area of the Boundary Waters canoe area in northeastern Minnesota on Saturday as the state’s largest active forest fire threatens the property of one million acres.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stopped issuing entry permits on Saturday and closed all land, water, trails, tolls, campsites, canoe routes and desert entry points until Aug. 27.
The bordering waters of the Upper National Forest are one of the most visited wilderness areas designated by the federation.
The Greenwood fire in the woods remained uncontrolled on Saturday and spread to 36 square miles. About 250 firefighters were battling the blaze.
An effort is now being made to reach paddlers and hikers through the vast desert, said National Forestry Superior spokeswoman Joanna Gilkeson.
“We currently have wild 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.
Rangers begin on the east side of the BWCA and move to western areas where there has been a large closure order for more than a month due to concerns over wildfires on the border of Quetico Provincial Park, in Ontario. This means there are fewer visitors to the western desert area.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office had ordered residents of about 245 homes and cabins to evacuate to areas around Lake McDougal, Lake Sand, the Corridor of Highway 2 and north of Highway 1 at surroundings of East and West Chub Lakes, Jackpot Lake and Slate Lake. .
No structures were damaged or injuries were reported, officials said.
Temperatures were lower on Saturday, humidity was higher and the sky was cloudy; all the factors that can help moderate the behavior of the fire by blocking the sun from the forest floor, help Clark McCreedy, spokesman for the multi-agency team fighting the flames.
“However, it’s already dry because last night we didn’t get enough rainfall for that time,” he told Star Tribune.
Friday and Saturday rainfall did little to help the firefight.
“Enough to settle the dust, little more than that,” McCreedy said. “With fire, we are always at the mercy of the weather.”
Drought conditions in the western states, which extend east to Minnesota, fuel about 100 wildfires. California has already surpassed the burned area at this point last year, which ended up setting the record. In northeastern Minnesota, heat, low humidity, and a dry leaf forest have fueled the fire of Greenwood Lake, one of several that burn in and out of boundary water.