Boundary Waters Could Be Closed Until October As Wildfires Burn

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness may be under a closure order through Oct. 1 as tens of thousands of acres of wildfires burn, the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday.

The order "is in place to protect public and firefighter health and safety until October 1 or until rescinded or updated," according to a social media post from the Forest Service’s Superior National Forest Facebook account.

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The Forest Service is evaluating permits daily, with Boundary Waters permits currently cancelled through Friday, the agency said.

While the Oct. 1 date has been in place since the area's closure was ordered, Wednesday was the first time it was listed in a news release, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

As of Wednesday, over 50,000 acres were burning in the area of the canoe wilderness, the Forest Service said. The fires are part of the aftermath of more than 1,000 lightning strikes that hit the region on July 6, causing dozens of blazes.

Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency on July 12 and mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to support wildfire response in the northeastern part of the state. The entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was temporarily closed on July 14.

Downstate and across the country, the fires have had a visible environmental impact, with heavy, pungent smoke darkening skies Thursday from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr has said that the smoky air could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take months, until it snows in Canada and northern Minnesota, officials have said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.