Rangers Paddle to Evacuate Boundary Waters | Duluth News

Duluth News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 14, 2026 · 1m

A million-acre Minnesota wilderness is under full evacuation as lightning-sparked wildfires, fueled by a brutal heatwave, force the U.S. Forest Service to shut down the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Eight rangers, paddling in four canoes, are trekking lake by lake to safely extract campers — a painstaking, week-long mission in a mostly non-motorized terrain. Despite concerns over federal budget cuts limiting staffing, the agency is leaning on experienced firefighters, even reaching out to former employees, and exploring float planes if conditions worsen. Local outfitters say it’s a tough but…