Greetings! As many of your know, the last few weeks have been challenging in the Northland. Due to extreme heat, higher than average winds and the resulting extreme dryness, resulting in a series of lightning strikes igniting a series of wildfires across the BWCA and the unprecedented closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The great news is the fires are stable and last night our “Ready” for evacuation notice here at the studio was lifted.

The city of Ely is open!

Ely is a community of small businesses, most of whom rely on revenue from seasonal visitors – with the average highest visitor numbers in July and August – to support business overhead throughout the rest of the year. When the BWCA is closed, many businesses experience canceled bookings, which trickles down rapidly through the community. Outfitters and Lodges have had innumerable cancellations, resulting in no work for guides and staff as well as significantly less business for hotels, restaurants, gift stores, coffee shops, museums, art galleries and more. Ely businesses are reporting a reduction in revenue of 40-90%.

Ely is Open!

 

If you’re looking for a nice escape from the daily grind consider a roadtrip North! Specific areas of the BWCAW will reopen today 7/27 for Day Permits and barring any new fire activity specific entry points will reopen for Overnight Permits on 7/31.  The air quality is excellent, and I’m looking at blue skies, golden sunlight, leaves rustling in the breeze and moderate temperatures as I write this post. Things are much quieter here than typical in late July so if you love the North but don’t love the traffic, wait lines in restaurants, meeting lots of people on the trail or having to plan bookings in advance (hit me up for a hotel discount), this is a fantastic time for a quiet, relaxing getaway!

Please check out this link to local Ely businesses and things to do while you’re here! And keep an eye on IG @artwithapoint for local businesses I’ll be highlighting. Thanks so much for your support!  ~Awen