The first major wildfire within the blowdown area occurred in August 2005, burning between Alpine Lake and Seagull Lake in the northeastern BWCAW. In 2006, two fires at Cavity Lake and Turtle Lake burned more than . In May 2007, the Ham Lake Fire started near the location of the Cavity Lake fire, eventually covering in Minnesota and Ontario and becoming the most extensive wildfire in Minnesota in 90 years. In 2011, the Pagami Creek Fire ultimately grew to over , spreading beyond the wilderness boundary to threaten homes and businesses. Smoke from the Pagami Creek Fire drifted east and south as far as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Ontario, Chicago, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.