(Ely, MN) – Governor Tim Walz visited Ely Monday for an update on the northern Minnesota wildfires, which have now scorched at least 64,000 acres across Cook, Lake and St. Louis Counties and closed the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. And it’s taken business from places like Ely. Mayor Heidi Omerza had this message for Minnesotans wanting to travel north. Omerz said, “Ely is open. We don’t know what the future brings for us. There’s been some economic downturn because of what is happening right now. You may not be able to quite get the Boundary Waters experience that you want but there are a lot of other things you can do."
Fire officials say containment of the wildfires is at 53 percent, with more than 1,000 firefighters battling the flames. During his visit, Governor Walz said he may call a special session to bring lawmakers back and try to pass an economic recovery package for northern Minnesota. He said that could happen as soon as August 12.
The Superior National Forest will implement a partial reopening of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness starting this Thursday. Forty-one entry points in the central and eastern portions of the Wilderness will reopen for day and overnight use, marking Phase 2 of the reopening process. Officials say this represents roughly 39 percent or about 432,000 acres of the BWCAW. All other entry points will stay closed while wildfires continue to burn in the area.