News
Boundary Waters wildfires bring grief over forest loss, but hope for long-term renewal
For the canoeists and campers who share a deep affinity for the rocky, pine-studded forests and lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, there is a sense of shared grief over the massive wildfires that continue to burn across the region.
But while fire is destructive in the short-term, in the long-term it's regenerative. Wildfire breathes new life into the boreal forests of northern Minnesota.
Story and photos by MPRNews
What's fueling northeastern Minnesota's Wildfires?
A conversation with University of Minnesota forest ecologist Lee Frelich about what's behind the fires burning in and near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, why they're so difficult to contain, and what we can do to reduce wildfire risk.
Story and photos by MPRNews
New research initiatives explore the future of Minnesota's wilderness
The Quetico-Superior border region is more than just a crown jewel of Minnesota’s landscape. It is a living laboratory. Through the Hubachek Wilderness Research Center, the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) has awarded funding to four innovative research projects.
Summer 2026
UPDATE: Monday, August 3: HWRC's evacuation status remains at Level 2 - Set (of Ready-Set-GO) status. For current Lake County evacuation information, see the Lake County Fire Safety and Evacuation page. The BWCAW is gradually reopening for day and overnight use in some locations. For current BWCAW closure/reopening information, see the Superior National Forest's BWCAW Wildfire Area Closures page, follow links and look for Associated "Exhibit" Documents.
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With an unusually dry spring and summer so far, it has become a very active fire season in the region. Early in July, a lightning event spawned fires in the Boundary Waters and Ely area. Many of these fires were contained until strong winds on Monday, July 13 caused several to flare up and spread rapidly for distances of 4-7 miles. The fire near Camp Lake north of HWRC was one of these. By late afternoon Monday, the fire front was within 3 miles of the HWRC buildings. For the safety of all, we evacuated by the end of the day. Official "Level 3" - "GO!" evacuation orders were instituted for the zone in which HWRC is located by late morning on Tuesday the 14th.
Our operations and maintenance staff was able to return daily to keep the sprinkler systems going, and improve those and an already well-established defensible space around buildings. Our director arrived on the 15th to assist for a week. The fire situation is fluid for the rest of the summer and fall. The end of this fire season can't be confidently predicted until enough snow falls to soak into the ground and put the fires completely out, but HWRC is now in relatively good shape to survive a wildfire.
See our News items on this page for links to two informative news pieces from Minnesota Public Radio regarding the July Lightning Fire Complex and broader forest and wildfire topics. Our director, Kyle Gill, appears briefly in the interviews in the July 23 update.
For more abut HWRC and our affiliated Research and Outreach Center, the Cloquet Forestry Center, follow the link to the View From the Woods 2025 on this page.