ELY, Minn. — As Canadian wildfire smoke clouds over Minnesota, there is another cloud looming over fire officials: drought conditions.
Two million Minnesotans are in areas of drought, according to the Drought Monitor.
"Leading up to this point -- we have had a slower start to the fire season," Minnesota Incident Command System's Leanne Langeberg said. "We had a delayed start to spring but once spring really kicked in and the dryness continued to extend, we are starting to see more of a comparison where we were in 2021."
The summer of 2021 was the last time the Boundary Waters closed due to wildfires. The Greenwood Fire tore through more than 25,000 acres.
Wilderness officials are keeping an eye on a wildfire burning in the heart of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). A release from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) says the fire was detected late Tuesday afternoon between Spice Lake and Ogishkemuncie Lake, just east of heavily-used Knife and Kekekabic Lakes and south of Seagull Lake about 10 miles west of the Gunflint Trail.
"Green is simply a color. It is not an indication of the fire danger that is present," Langeberg said.
The Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park are only allowing campfires in designated campsites. The DNR extended that to their state areas in Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties, announcing they will not be approving new burning permits.
Langeberg says conditions need to improve before we see bans lift. And, it's on the public to make sure more fires don't start.
"9 times out of 10, wildfires can be directly contributed to human activity," Langeberg said.