Dry conditions in northeastern Minnesota prompt campfire restrictions in Boundary Waters

People in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness won't be able to have a campfire beginning Saturday due to "continued dry conditions" in northeastern Minnesota, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Officials with the Superior National Forest issued an order, which begins at 12:01 a.m., that "restricts the ignition, building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire, including charcoal grills and barbeques, coal, and woodburning stoves to reduce the likelihood of a wildfire" within the Boundary Waters. Gas and propane stoves are allowed in the area. 

Federal officials said in a social media post on Friday afternoon that there were 17 active wildfires in the Superior National Forest, including four within the Boundary Waters. The largest blaze, named the Thumb Fire, has burned 20 acres of land between Thumb and Contentment lakes and was sparked by lightning. 

The remote location of the Thumb Fire is making it difficult for firefighters to get close to the blaze, officials said. Aircraft were conducting water drops on Friday.

The other fires range in size from one-tenth of an acre to 10 acres, according to the post.

As of Friday night, 13 entry points into the Boundary Waters and a northwestern section of its Gunflint Range District are closed due to the wildfires, officials said. See the full list of closures here.