Gunflint Trail in MN reopened

ALONG THE GUNFLINT TRAIL, Minn. - The Gunflint Trail in northeastern Minnesota was officially reopened May 22, more than two weeks after a wildfire broke out.

The fire began just as lodge owners were gearing up for the fishing opener and the start of the summer tourist season. By the time the blaze was declared contained on the U.S. side of the area, it had consumed more than 118 square miles in Minnesota and Ontario, Canada

The Star Tribune newspaper reported that outfitters and lodge owners are worried that concerns about damage from the fire may decrease tourism to the region, known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Large patches of blackened landscape are visible in many places along the last 30 miles of the 57-mile-long trail. But Mike Prom, who owns Voyageur Canoe Outfitters with his wife, Sue, told the Star Tribune: "If you had a map of the Boundary Waters on an 8 1/2-by-11 sheet of paper, this fire would be the size of a quarter."

However, the newspaper reported that a small number of customers are canceling summer trips — partly because of what might be called the "Yellowstone phenomenon." In 1988, a fire raged through Yellowstone National Park and it was widely covered in the media. For years, visitors expecting to see a charred landscape were surprised at how the park looked.

Some outfitters in Minnesota plan to offer special trips for people who want to study the role of wind and fire in the boreal forest's cycle of life.

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