Dave Orrick

Nearly all of Camp Widjiwagan’s legendary fleet of wood canvas canoes is safe, with 19 of them cached underwater in an ancient practice.

Nearly all of Camp Widjiwagan’s fleet of wood canvas canoes is safe, with 19 of them underwater in Burntside Lake in Ely MN to protect them from the Boundary Waters wildfires.

About 75,000 acres have burned, areas around Ely remain under evacuation orders and smoke is threatening much of the Upper Midwest.

A week ago today, authorities in northeastern Minnesota took the rare step of ordering the closure and evacuation of the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest.

Scores of lightning strikes July 7 had birthed some 16 fires in the dry pine forests across the Arrowhead, and between July 8 and July 12, a number of them grew rapidly in size amid a heat wave.

The official closure runs through Friday. Eastern portions of the wilderness remain far from flames.

The official closure runs through Friday. Eastern portions of the Minnesota wilderness in the Superior National Forest remain far from forest fires.

U.S. Forest Service officials are studying the impact on wildland firefighters and other resources if campers return to some remote areas.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness remains closed through at least Friday as wildfires continue to burn.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness remains closed through at least Friday as wildfires continue to burn.