More than 55,000 Acres Burned, Creating Health Hazard
The Range and Northeastern Minnesota have taken on an otherworldly look over the past couple of days as a heavy cloud of yellow wildfire smoke has drifted down from the border and cast a hazy, unhealthy blanket on the area.
As of today, July 15, there are 17 active wildfires burning across Northeastern Minnesota and have scorched more than 55,000 acres so far. The fires are large enough that they have forced the closure of the Boundary Waters and led to a state-level peacetime emergency, which Governor Tim Walz extended for an extra 30 days.
Most of the fires are believed to have been sparked by a series of lightning storms that moved through the region on July 6, with four of the fires inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the other 13 primarily in Northern St. Louis and Lake Counties.
Extreme heat and dry conditions have caused some of the smaller fires to merge into major fire events. Combined with the remote areas of some of the fires, it’s making firefighting efforts extremely difficult.
More than 150 firefighters, along with 18 aircraft and four National Guard helicopters, are battling the blazes.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality alert that remains in effect at least until late Friday morning.
Air quality conditions in the region are listed as hazardous, with outdoor physical activity being recommended to be kept ot a minimum.
Campers inside the BWCA have been evacuated, as have some parts of the Fernberg corridor and the Echo Trail.
No estimate of the duration of the fires has been released, but officials are closely monitoring conditions as they evolve.
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