BWCA Stops Issuing Entry Permits Due to Wildfires

The wildfires in Northern Minnesota have caused the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to stop issuing use permits for the area. In a post shared to BWCA.com, a moderator shared an update on August 21st, 2021:

Due to overall fire safety issues in the BWCA, permits have stopped being issued for all entry points starting today. We feel terrible for everyone who will miss a trip and the surrounding businesses. And thank you to the firefighters who continue to battle the fires.
This does affect day use of the BWCA as well, but it does not affect all campgrounds, non-BWCA lakes, resorts, and other activities outside the BWCA.
As the outfitters and Forest Service are very busy dealing with permits in the immediate timeframe, please give them a break by not calling about trips that are outside the next few days. This is a day-by-day situation.

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The Duluth News Tribune shared that the BWCA will be closed for at least seven days (through August 27th) but that could be extended or modified depending on how the fire is being handled. As of Saturday morning, the Greenwood Fire had spread to 9,067 acres. Other fires burning in the area are the Whelp fire and John Ek fires.

This is the first time the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has been shut down in 45 years, and the several hundred campers that were in that area of Superior National Forest were asked to evacuate. The fire, caused by lightning, was first reported August 15th about 15 miles southwest of Isabella.

Hundreds of firefights from multiple organizations are working to put this fire out, and please keep them and everyone that calls that area home in your prayers and hope it is put out soon and safely.