Horseshoe Island Fire on Saganaga Lake

I’ll start with the good news. A fire in the BWCAW at a campsite on Horseshoe Island on Saganaga Lake was contained to a 1/4 of an acre. The campsite affected was number 374 on the north side of the island. That’s the good news.

The bad news is there were people camping at this Boundary Waters campsite without a permit who were building campfires outside of the fire ring. According to the USFS, “There was a fire detected Wednesday, 9/25, in the BWCAW on Saganaga Lake – Horseshoe Island. It was declared contained yesterday afternoon 9/26 at about a 1/4 acre. Crews are continuing to monitor the fire. We had a USFS wilderness crew working in the area who responded, along with USFS fire personnel and USFS Law Enforcement. There were parties cited with multiple campfires outside the designated fire grate, no permit for the boundary waters, and multiple other infractions.”

I’m super thankful the fire was detected and contained quickly because it could have been so much worse. The conditions in the forest are dry due to the lack of rain in September. This fire could have easily made its way to a number of cabins nearby on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake and of course affected the scenic beauty surrounding Horseshoe Island.

I don’t understand how or what people are thinking. If a person knows enough about the Boundary Waters to get there and make their way to a campsite then you would think they would know you need a permit to camp there and you need to keep fires inside the fire grate. I wish I had more details regarding this event and the people who were camping there. I want to be able to understand or excuse their behavior. I don’t want to believe there are people who blatantly disregard rules without thinking about consequences.

Thanks to the responders and the USFS for being there and taking care of Horseshoe Island and Saganaga Lake.