Forest floor a sea of green one year after the massive Greenwood Fire near the BWCA
Lane Johnson
Outdoor News

Forest floor a sea of green one year after the massive Greenwood Fire near the BWCA

The Greenwood Fire burned nearly 27,000 acres in northeastern Minnesota following a summer of heat, drought and smoky skies.

The fire started August 15, 2021, and led, in part, to the complete closure of the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last summer.

Along the way, the fire destroyed more than a dozen buildings and led to the evacuation of hundreds of homes near Isabella and Highway 1 in Lake County.

WTIP reported extensively on the wildfire while it was burning in August and September 2021. Since that time, the radio station in Grand Marais shared reports about the fire and its aftermath, including a visit to the burn area during the winter months.

Just days before the one-year anniversary of the Greenwood Fire, WTIP Outdoor News Podcast Host Joe Friedrichs traveled back to the site of the Greenwood Fire to see what the forest looked like. Blackened trees lined an area near Lake County Highway 2, not far from the Intersection of Highway 1 heading toward Ely.

For the episode, Friedrichs also spoke with Laura Reuling, a forest researcher at the University of Minnesota, to learn more about the Greenwood Fire, one year later.

Photo by Lane Johnson.