Long 2 Fire in Boundary Waters Contained After Low‑Impact Suppression

Using handlines, a small burnout and lakeshore control lines, firefighters secured the lightning‑started blaze and will continue mop‑up to cool deep smoldering.

Overview

The Long 2 fire was first detected during a routine fire patrol flight on Thursday and was located south of Pine Lake on Long Lake inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Forest Service investigators confirmed lightning from earlier storms as the cause of the ignition.
Fire crews flown in by Beaver aircraft cleared fuels around the perimeter, established hose lines and used a small burnout and natural barriers to contain the blaze, which the Forest Service reports is fully contained and larger than initial estimates.
Fire behavior was mainly smoldering and creeping in pine needle litter and brush with occasional single‑tree torching, and crews warn deep ground smoldering could take several days to a week to fully extinguish.
There are no formal BWCAW closures but the public is asked to stay out of the area for safety, unauthorized drone flights are prohibited in the wilderness, and managers say the low‑impact tactics protect both backcountry character and firefighter safety.