How often do the powers at be evaluate the closures? I don't want to completely pull the plug but I cannot wait much longer to reserve sites in voyaguers. Will the three hours of thunderstorms tonight be enough?

I have no idea what is going through the heads of USFS, but if I had to guess, three hours of rain is nowhere close to being sufficient to opening closed sections. As far as I am aware, these areas are closed due to the threat of Canadian fires in Quetico approaching the border and posing a threat to BWCA lakes. I'm no forest ecologist, but from everything I have heard, three days of rain probably wouldn't even be enough to eliminate the threat. Same goes for a fire ban. Probably need several weeks in a row (and many inches of rain) to turn the tides.

I'm sure others on this forum would have a better idea, but from what I have understood from USFS updates, don't get your hopes up.

I just came out. We had rain for about 3 or 4 hours one day, and for an extended time 2 different nights. You could not even tell it had rained in the pine duff.

Like DD said, don't get your hopes up. The rain I am seeing for the arrowhead looks to be scattered storms that will likely start more fires.
It will take a good soaking 3 inches or more of rain with more in the forecast to lift the fire restrictions in the BW. I would expect the fires across the border to burn until winter. How much they burn is the question.

Three hours is far too little. The USFS can't be setting restrictions, taking them off, and resetting with each shower. Needs to be a long wet stretch and a bit more.

The ranger we met at Upper Basswood Falls the day they closed that section said to not expect things to open back up this summer. It doesn't really depend directly on rain, but on the fires just over the border in Quetico. You could monitor those fires to get a sense but they seem to be continuing unabated. I would just make your new reservations.

Based on what the Analyst said during the forest service briefing on the 21st ( you can watch it on their facebook page) I expect the closure to be in effect for the season. Rain will slow the progression for a day or so, but its not going to put the fires driving the closure out.

He also mentioned that it could rekindle itself next year.

Ely only got 12 hundreths out of the last storm. Close to the canadian fire areas I saw 1/2 inch. Only about 25 hundreths from the Fernberg weather station. Guessing we will see more lightning fires.

just got off Bald Eagle, it poured like a banshee on Thursday night. Three hours later you would have never known it had rained.

I have never seen it so dry up there.

I was on Birch Lake and it split around us in the late afternoon. Thunder both west and East of us. We only got rain for about 15 minutes. Nice little test for my new CCS tarp. Each bit of rain helps but they need a lot more rain for any changes to happen.

Ryan

wxce1260: "just got off Bald Eagle, it poured like a banshee on Thursday night. Three hours later you would have never known it had rained.


I have never seen it so dry up there. "

I was on Mesaba Thursday evening and paddled out via the Zenith-Lujenaida portage on Friday morning.

The bushes and short trees had enough water on the leaves to soak my pant legs and shirt sleeves on the portages but the ground was still bone dry. No issues with mud or beaver pond floods on Zenith portage. The rain did give the mosquitoes a little burst of blood sucking intensity though. Deer flies were low but present too.

Never seen so much down and dead wood stacked unused at every camp site. We stayed on Phoebe, Marlberg, Trail and Mesaba.

Lots of rock gardens and beaver dam pullovers.