The Birch Bay Fire started off the shore of Burntside Lake near the North Arm Road area, eight miles Northwest of Ely, MN, on Monday, June 1, 2026. On Friday, an MN DNR fire investigator determined that the fire was likely started by a chainsaw being used for fuel reduction work in the Superior National Forest. 

Inciweb’s Friday afternoon report estimated the fire to be at 35 acres and 43 percent contained. There are 81 personnel reported to be on the fire. An MNICS Type 3 Incident Management Team took over management of the fire on Wednesday, June 3. 

Fire officials continue to utilize ground crews, heavy equipment, and aircraft to suppress and contain the fire. A hotshot crew arrived to assist with the mop-up, removing compromised trees and perimeter containment, and will remain a focus for crews in the coming days. 

As of Thursday afternoon, all evacuation zones have been lifted for the area. The fire burns near an area of private cabins on Burntside Lake, YMCA camps Widjiwagan and du Nord, and U.S. Forest Service land that lies west of the lake. No structure protection is currently active near these developed areas, but an Inciweb official told Boreal Community Media that crews cleared around two structures on leased DNR land.

Earlier in the week, the fire burned into a Forest Service planned prescribed burn unit, which is being used for control efforts for the Birch Nay Fire. This prescribed fire unit, called Geraldine, is 285 acres of forest identified as a fire-dependent ecosystem, with cleared control lines in place. The unit was planned for a prescribed burn in the fall of 2025, but the Forest Service reportedly wasn’t able to obtain final approval to use a helicopter for monitoring before the burn window closed. The unit was rescheduled for burning this spring, but conditions have remained too dry to complete the project. 

As part of the prescribed burn prep, the control lines were cut to manage fuel levels in the forest. With proper protections in place, the Forest Service would ignite a low-intensity burn, meaning that the fire would remove the small, flammable vegetation that could spread to the larger overstory trees in a more intense fire. 

The fire also burned near the popular YMCA Camp Widjiwagan and Camp du Nord- both camps that have recently completed forest clearing as part of an NRCS-funded Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The program gives financial assistance to incentivize non-commercial forest thinning and, in this case, the removal of dead and dying balsam fir trees. Much of the forest in the area has been affected by a recent spruce budworm outbreak, a native insect that feeds on the foliage of spruce and fir trees. 

Andy Sinykin, the Executive Director of YMCA Camp du Nord, told Boreal Community Media that the forest stand improvement work has been completed by du Nord staff with some help from volunteers. Sinykin said he was happy to have a portion of their 100+ acre project completed when news of the wildfire broke. The fire has remained west of the camp, but the risk of it spreading into the recently opened forest is lower due to the work. 

Mechanically removing the “fine fuels”, which are smaller, easily dried vegetation, makes it less likely for a fire to move from tree to tree or up into the canopy of a forest. This form of management is especially useful near developed areas where there are structures in place to protect. 

Preemptive work completed before the Birch Bay Fire broke out has likely helped officials with containment. However, the recent news of the possible ignition of the fire with an agency’s chainsaw also highlights the risk that management itself can pose in dry periods. A very dry spring has severely limited the window during which the Forest Service can conduct prescribed and pile burning. It has also increased the risk of managing the fire with equipment that can create sparks or an exhaust hot enough to ignite dry fuel. 

Firewise is a program that offers guidance on clearing forests around homes for forest protection. Visit the website for more info: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/firewise/index.html.