Drought has increased across Minnesota, and it's created some dangerous fire conditions in portions of the state.
That includes the northeastern corner of Minnesota, and if you're heading for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this month, a heads up for campers.
Because of the dry conditions, visitors will not be allowed to have campfires. That order goes into effect this Saturday and it runs until the June 30 - for now.
Campers can still use propane cook stoves, but they are also asked to be extremely careful with those open flames.
The temporary campfire ban could be extended if the dry weather continues over the coming weeks, or could be rescinded if there’s plentiful rain.
Despite these restrictions, the Arrowhead where the BWCA is, doesn't even have a current drought classification. But there are plenty of other portions of Minnesota that do, including in the Twin Cities metro.
The driest portion of Minnesota lies along the border with South Dakota, where conditions are now listed as "severe" by the U.S. Drought Monitor which released its latest update on Thursday. North-Central Minnesota is seeing moderate drought, while the bulk of the state and the Twin Cities are abnormally dry.
75% of the state is considered abnormally dry or drier, up from 61% last week.
There were a couple of rainy periods over the last week, and more rain could come on Friday. Still, that drought monitor got worse from last week's update, as the rain that is falling can't quite catch-up to the deficit.
According to the Minnesota DNR, the entire upper two-thirds of Minnesota outside of a small area along the Rainy River are under at least moderate fire danger conditions.
There have been a couple of wildfires in Minnesota already this year, including one this week near Ely which is located on the edge of the BWCA.
Drought conditions in Minnesota for June 4, 2026.
(U.S. Drought Monitor)
BWCA Burning Restrictions
