Boundary Waters wildfire 'creeping and smoldering,' now estimated at 20 acres in size
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A closure order for part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness may be issued Thursday as crews continue to respond to a wildfire.
The Spice Lake Fire was estimated at 20 acres in size on Wednesday — down from an initial estimate of 30 acres after it was first detected on Tuesday. It’s burning between Spice Lake and Ogishkemuncie Lake, about 10 miles southwest of the end of the Gunflint Trail.
It’s in an area with trees killed by spruce budworm — which means more fuel for wildfires. The fire was “actively burning” when first spotted on Tuesday. But aerial surveys on Wednesday found the fire to be less active, instead “creeping and smoldering” as aircraft continued to drop water on it.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
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The Superior National Forest, in an update Wednesday night, said it would be issuing “a closure restriction in the near future for a travel area around the fire for public safety. Public safety crews will sweep the closure area to redirect visitors and post portages closed.”
Fire managers are working to develop a strategy for battling the fire. As of Wednesday, firefighters — including a 19-person hotshot crew — were being transported to the area via floatplane, to battle the flames on the ground.
The Forest Service has issued an emergency order banning campfires for all of the BWCAW until further notice, amid ongoing dry conditions and elevated wildfire danger.
The emergency order went into effect Wednesday morning. It also applies to charcoal grills and wood-burning stoves. Authorities said gas and propane cook stoves are still allowed in the wilderness.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also has imposed its own fire restrictions across four northeast Minnesota counties — Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis.
As long as they’re in place, the DNR won’t be issuing burning permits for those four counties; fireworks aren’t allowed outside city limits; and campfires are allowed “only in an established fire ring associated with a home, campground, or resort. No campfires are allowed for dispersed, remote, backpacking, or backcountry camping.”
The DNR noted that fire danger is likely to remain high through the rest of the month.
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