Forest Service closing Boundary Waters amid extreme heat, wildfires

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Clarissa Shaffer’s dining room in St. Paul is filled with backpacks, camping gear and freeze-dried meals.

Everything was packed and ready to go for Wednesday, when Schaffer, her husband and their two young daughters were supposed to begin a three-day trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the Sawbill entry point.

But Sunday night, she started seeing alerts from outfitters about a possible closure.

“I was kind of scrolling social media and saw one outfitter, I think it was the Bearskin Lodge on the Gunflint. They had posted a screenshot of the email that they got from the U.S. Forest Service,” she said.

The Forest Service officially announced Monday it would be closing the entire Boundary Waters

 as crews battled multiple wildfires in the area and dry, windy conditions raised concerns about more fires and the safety of first responders. The closure canceled all entry permits through Friday, forcing hundreds of visitors to rethink trips they had spent months planning.

Shaffer said she and her family still plan to head north this week, but they’ll stay outside the Boundary Waters.

“My initial gut reaction was just a total bummer. My heart just sank,” Shaffer said. “But having slept on it and thought about it, this doesn’t really get more Boundary Waters than this.”

She said part of traveling to the wilderness is accepting that plans can change quickly.

“Nature calls the shots, and you have to be flexible when it comes to doing what it demands of you — even if that means not going at all,” she said.

Near Grand Marais, Joel Drotos was also preparing for a Friday entry into the wilderness with his wife and two children. But he had already been questioning whether the conditions were right for the trip. Drotos said dry weather and high winds had raised concerns about wildfire risk.

“If it’s really windy, like it has been — it’s been brutally windy — we might have tried to postpone anyway,” Drotos said. “And then with fires, it’s kind of like, well, then it’s dangerous on multiple fronts.”

Drotos said his family is experienced with camping and knew they could handle challenging conditions. But he didn’t want to put them at risk. He’s glad officials made the call.

“When they just say, ‘Hey, listen, nobody can come in,’ you kind of go, ‘Okay, poof. Then that’s not on me,’” he said. “That’s a good idea that somebody at the Forest Service had.”

Instead, the family is considering other plans, including visiting relatives in Red Wing.

In Ely, the closure has meant difficult conversations for outfitters who depend on summer visitors.

Jason Zabokrtsky, owner of Ely Outfitting Company, said many customers traveled long distances for their wilderness vacations, including visitors from California and North Carolina.

“The reality is this is the time they have to get everybody in their group together to come to Minnesota and do a wilderness vacation,” Zabokrtsky said. “And unfortunately, they’re just not able to this week.”

Zabokrtsky said his business is working with customers to reschedule when possible, while others are finding different ways to spend time in northeastern Minnesota.

Some visitors are heading to other camping and canoeing opportunities outside the Boundary Waters. Others are staying in Ely to explore local attractions and businesses.

The Forest Service says permit holders affected by the closure will automatically receive refunds while firefighters continue responding to wildfires in the wilderness.

For Shaffer, it’s still disappointing to miss out on a trip her family had been looking forward to. But she says protecting the Boundary Waters is worth changing their plans.

“It sucks, but I’d rather there be a Boundary Waters to keep going to in the future,” she said. “If it’s a sacrifice we have to make, it’s totally worth it.”

Minnesota News

Greater Minnesota

NewsPartners

Homepage

Disasters

Minnesota Wildfires

Live updates: Wildfires in Minnesota

Nicole Ki

Author

Wildfire danger closed the Boundary Waters this week, forcing paddlers to cancel or change long-planned trips and leaving outfitters scrambling.

They packed for the Boundary Waters. Then wildfire danger changed their plans

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox