Waiting, Watching, Wondering about wildfires on the Gunflint Trail

That’s what we’ve been doing lately in regards to the wildfire situation on the Gunflint Trail. Waiting to see if the fires will produce a plume of smoke again, watching for updates from the fire teams and wondering if we’ll be able to outfit folks into the Boundary Waters again soon. Since this has never happened before we have no idea if the closure of the BWCAW will be extended or lifted. We want everyone to be “safe” when they are camping and canoeing in the wilderness but in reality no matter where you are you are never really “safe.”  How safe is the Boundary Waters in relation to the drought conditions at this time? We’re not sure so we have to wonder, wait and see what the USFS will decide to do.

We received about 3/4 of an inch of rain at the Seagull Guard Station over the weekend. This wasn’t enough to take us out of the drought situation we were in but it did allow firefighters to gain access to both the Whelp Fire by Sawbill and the John Ek Fire closer to the Gunflint Trail. Teams are working on constructing fire lines and laying hose down on the Whelp Fire while logistical work is being done on the John Ek Fire. Neither fire grew in size over the weekend but according to information received from the Incident Team fires could become active again later in the week as conditions dry out.

We will wait and see.