DULUTH — The reopening of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness means a paddling trip Up North this weekend is back on for four 40-something dads craving a much-needed break.
Superior National Forest is opening the wilderness area after spreading wildfires forced a rare closure on Aug. 21.
"It takes a lot of things to fall into place to try and find a week where people with kids and full-time jobs can all get away," said Edgerton, Wis., resident Theran Springstead, among the group taking the paddling trip.
Recent rain helped diminish the multiple wildfires burning within the BWCA and other parts of the national forest, including the 26,000-acre Greenwood fire. The Forest Service said this week that much of the BWCA and national forest would reopen Saturday, including the popular Crooked Lake area. While permits were canceled through Friday, reserved permits for Saturday and beyond are still valid, and new reservations became available starting Thursday.
The Forest Service is "happy to open things up" to visitors who want more time in the wilderness before winter, said Connie Cummins, supervisor of the Superior National Forest. But, she warned in a Thursday video update, "we do still remain in extreme drought," with areas of the forest eight to 16 inches of precipitation below last year at this time.
"The snow will fall before we probably get out of drought," Cummins said.
Officials last closed the wilderness area in 1976, when another record drought gripped that part of the state.
Cooler weather and fire fighting progress also played a part in the decision to reopen, with the region's biggest fires remaining unchanged for days. All but three national forest fires are considered contained, and rain even helped control the Canadian wildfires closest to the BWCA. However, some areas close to those fires remain closed, such as land at the Upper Gunflint Trail, and restrictions on campfires and charcoal grills throughout the forest remain. Nearly half of the 65 fires reported in the Superior National Forest in 2021 were caused by humans, authorities said.
