The U.S. Forest Service announced Tuesday that Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will remain closed until Sept. 3. The area was closed on Saturday, Aug. 21.
All BWCAW permits have been canceled and refunded through that date. Officials cited continuing forest fires as the main reason.
"Yesterday alone, we had four new fires start in the wilderness," read a statement from the U.S. Forest Service — Superior National Forest. "The Forest has decided it is not yet safe to open up the wilderness or divert resources from firefighting."
