Walz mobilizes National Guard as Minnesota wildfires spread near Canada

Tim Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard on Sunday as wildfires spread along the state’s northern border with Canada. The fires had already burned through hot, dry terrain in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, one of Minnesota’s most visited summer destinations.

On May 17, Walz declared a peacetime emergency that authorized Guard support for wildfire response in northern Minnesota. The order cited the Steward Trail Fire near Two Harbors at about 355 acres and the Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County at about 1,000 acres, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had requested personnel, equipment and other resources to help contain the blazes.

On July 9, the Superior National Forest counted 16 active wildfires, including four inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. A July 10 Superior National Forest facts sheet counted 17 active fires, with nine new starts reported on July 9. Local officials blamed the July fires on thunderstorms on July 6 that brought lightning but little precipitation, then on the continued stretch of warm, dry conditions that kept fire growth moving.

On July 11, the Superior National Forest imposed emergency campfire restrictions effective at 12:01 a.m. inside the wilderness area. On July 12, the Forest Service closed 225,000 acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness because of multiple wildfires and continued dry conditions. Forest Service and local officials counted 20 active fires in and around the Superior National Forest, with five inside the BWCAW.

The Boundary Waters, which contains about 1 million acres inside the Superior National Forest, normally draws about 150,000 visitors a year, and park rangers were escorting people out over the weekend as entry points and trails were shut down. Voyageurs National Park also announced fire restrictions effective July 12.