Wildfires burning across Minnesota's Superior National Forest and into Canada are blanketing the region in dense smoke, triggering air quality alerts, dropping ash across a wide area and prompting assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR.)
LIVE BLOG: What’s canceled, postponed and available resources as wildfire smoke impacts Wisconsin
Catherine Koele, a wildfire prevention specialist with the Wisconsin DNR, said the smoke is coming from fires in both Minnesota and Canada.
"It's very, very smoky, dense smoke. So air quality alerts all across the board. Ash is falling," Koele said.
Koele said the fires do not respect borders.
"The smoke is really coming from Canada as well as Minnesota. It's a landscape that does not stop at the border, so a lot of the smoke that you're seeing is from Canada. They have very large, widespread fires happening up in that province as well," Koele said.
WATCH: Minnesota wildfires spread smoke and ash across region as Wisconsin DNR sends support
About 13 active wildfires are currently burning within the Boundary Waters area. 3 are in wilderness areas, and officials say additional fires may exist that have not yet been detected.
The fires were sparked by a lightning event approximately a week ago across dense, remote, and dry terrain. The region has not seen rain in roughly three weeks.
"Resources are spread across the landscape and prioritizing these fires based on values at risk," Koele said.
Firefighting efforts are focused on fires near communities and structures, with fire departments conducting structure protection and aircraft being used to suppress the blazes.
The Wisconsin DNR is actively supporting Minnesota's response, Koele is on location to help with public information about the fire .
"The Wisconsin DNR is supporting Minnesota through overhead positions, so kind of management overhead as well as with engines. So we have folks who are here helping support these fires and we are looking at adding to the fleet in the coming days," Koele said.
Koele cautions Wisconsin residents planning trips to the Boundary Waters in Ely, Minnesota to call ahead and check on possible closures.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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