Cook County declares state of local emergency over wildfires, BWCAW closures
The Cook County Board of Commissioners declared a state of local emergency on Monday due to the widespread wildfires across northern Minnesota and throughout the Superior National Forest.
The declaration allows county officials to request state public emergency and disaster assistance for eligible wildfire response and recovery activities.
There are more than a dozen active wildfires burning across the Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as of Monday. Many of the wildfires were sparked following a July 6 lightning incident. According to Forest Service officials, the wildfires have burned over 70,000 acres.
On July 14, the U.S. Forest Service closed the BWCAW for the safety of the public and for firefighting response efforts. The closure has been extended until Friday, July 24.
The declaration, approved during a special meeting on Monday, states that Cook County is suffering and endangered by the wildfires in the area since the lightning incident on July 6. While the majority of the wildfires are on the western side of the BWCAW, the impacts of the BWCAW closures and dangerous smoke conditions are being felt by businesses and outfitters up the Gunflint Trail and throughout Cook County.
Smokey skies over the Grand Marais harbor | Photo by Dennis Chick
During the meeting, the board of commissioners also unanimously approved a resolution to hire Paramount Planning and contract with Steve VanKekerix, the Cook County Firewise coordinator, to provide incident management support for emergency response and operations within the county.
County Administrator Kristen Trebil-Halbersma said the decision to hire and contract with VanKekerix follows the submission of retirement and subsequent resignation of Mike Keyport, emergency management director, effective Sept. 1.
“So given his upcoming retirement, and we know that the fires are likely to continue into the near future, I’m making a request to assist us during this time to ensure again that we have the support that we need,” Trebil-Halbersma said.
Trebil-Halbersma added, “Also, in statute, we are required to have a deputy emergency management director, so that fills that need as well.”
VanKekerix, in addition to serving as the Cook County Firewise coordinator, has spent several decades within law enforcement and previously served as the emergency management director for Carlton County.
Gov. Tim Walz and members of the Minnesota Executive Council approved an extension of the peacetime emergency last week in response to the wildfires burning across northern Minnesota.
“We need to remember when the smoke clears, this won’t be over,” State Auditor Julie Blaha said during a news conference addressing the wildfire situation in northern Minnesota. “We need to continue to make these communities whole.”
In addition to concerns about public safety, Walz and Blaha highlighted the economic impacts that closures in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and evacuations across the Arrowhead region could have on local businesses. Walz said the emergency declaration is intended, in part, to help provide resources to address those impacts.
“First and foremost, it’s protection of life and property,” Gov. Walz said during the news conference. “But we also need to recognize the economic impact to northern Minnesota is going to be felt because of the closure of the Boundary Waters.”
Walz also authorized the use of the state’s Disaster Contingency Account, which allows counties and local governments to apply for reimbursement of up to 75% of eligible emergency response costs. The fund is intended for disasters that do not meet the threshold for federal assistance.
The St. Louis County Board of Commissioners declared a state of local emergency and local disaster on July 14, due to the widespread impacts of the wildfires across the region.
Kalli Hawkins July 20, 2026
