IN THE EXTREME HEAT and humidity of Monday afternoon, my husband and I and our eldest daughter and her family escaped to Copper Cat Escape Games in Brainerd to sleuth for Granny’s hidden secret recipe. It was great fun finding and solving clues, unlocking boxes and finally solving the mystery with five minutes to spare.
On Wednesday afternoon, we escaped, too, but this time from intense wildfire smoke which blew in from the north, enveloping the Brainerd Lakes area cabin where we were vacationing. We’ve experienced smoke on previous visits. This time, though, the smoke was especially thick, intense and oppressive.
The smoke rolled in as Randy and I were hiking at Mission Park only a short drive from the Horseshoe Lake cabin south of Crosslake. We emerged from the woods to see dense smoke. Initially, we thought someone was burning, but soon realized the source—wildfires to the north in Canada and northern Minnesota.
Wildfires are raging in areas in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with campers there evacuated earlier in the week and the BWCA closed. Evacuation orders have been issued in parts of St. Louis, Cook and Lake counties in the northeastern part of Minnesota. Camps are closing, kids sent home. And on and on. Resorts, outfitters and other businesses that rely on seasonal income are suffering.
And across nearly all of Minnesota, we are breathing in smoke at levels classified as hazardous, very unhealthy, unhealthy and more by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. That includes right here in my county of Rice in the southern part of the state far from the wildfires.
But the level here in Faribault is nothing compared to what we saw and breathed in yesterday in the Brainerd Lakes area. That smoke smelled of infinite campfires, stung our eyes, made it hard to breathe, reduced visibility.
Our plans to spend the day exploring and enjoying the small towns near the cabin quickly pivoted to packing and heading home a day earlier than intended. Our daughter and her family left a day prior, as scheduled.
It was the right decision to leave on Wednesday. Already visibility across Horseshoe Lake was so limited that the opposite shore appeared only an outline of trees. Smoke and the stench of smoke hung in the air. The toxic air felt suffocating.
Once on Crow Wing County Road 3, Randy and I could see the scope of the smoke spreading far and wide, blanketing the landscape.
Onward we drove, turning onto county road 11, passing stands of charred trees and cleared land from a mid-May wildfire in Mission Township. The irony was not lost on me.
Mile after mile, we traveled in smoky conditions. In Crosby, life appeared business as usual with a packed downtown, despite the smoke. Shoppers walking in and out of shops. Bikers biking.
In Deerwood, a roadside deer statue appeared to leap through the smoke in an attempt to escape.
In Garrison, visitors at the Mille Lacs Lake overlook could see the roadside statue, but not much of the lake.
Down the road a bit, a guy jogged alongside U.S. Highway 169. Smoke still hung thick. I wondered how his body could tolerate the polluted air. Mine can’t.
We thought we would soon drive out of the wildfire smoke. But we drove past endless towns along highway 169—Onamia, Milaca, Princeton, Zimmerman… Not until we reached Elk River in the northwest metro two hours later did the smoke dissipate and open to blue skies. Then and only then did I feel like I could breathe easier.
I hope Minnesotans living near the 17 uncontrolled wildfires, and firefighters, plus our Canadian neighbors, can soon breathe easier, too. Rain is needed.
Yet, I know these fires can burn for weeks, ravaging the landscape, polluting the air, impacting businesses and sometimes changing vacation plans. But leaving the lake cabin a day early to escape the smoke is nothing, truly nothing, in the story of wildfires.
TELL ME: Are you being affected by wildfires? If yes, I’d like to hear your story.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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