Fire danger is high in NE MN. Open burning ban in Cook Cty. since 14 June. The precipitation in April and half of May ran off in the local streams because the ground was frozen, so soil moisture was not replenished in my opinion. NE MN has an abundance on balsam and white spruce trees killed by spruce budworm, so there are a lot of combustible fuels. The USFS closed the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to all recreation and is being evacuated. I had ash falling from MN and Canadian wildfires, most caused by recent lightning strikes. We need a lot of rain w/o lightning. Smoke has been heavier all day than it was yesterday, the 14 July. As of today, there are 15 active wildfires in the Superior National Forest.