I urge you not to take our Stay at Home Order as an opportunity to stockpile more than you need. Our stores will have food and other necessary supplies, and our grocery store workers are keeping things stocked. This is about social distancing and taking precautions to save lives.

The BWCAW will be closed through May 4 by the U.S. Forest Service which is following the state's stay at home restrictions. Closure could go longer if state restrictions are extended: duluthnewstribune.com/sports/outdoor…

Superior National Forest news release: April 15, 2020 ...to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will be closed for both day and overnight use from April 15 through May 4. Reservations made through May 4 will receive a full refund...

WELY will be required to shut down our transmitters for extended periods of time during daylight hours this week. A crew of daredevil climbers will be replacing equipment on the tower. Thanks for your patience!

With COVID cases on the rise locally, Ely schools moving to hybrid education model for grades 6-12, with grades K-5 to remain in-person everyday. Move takes effect next week, with school as normal Friday, and grades 6-12 off Monday to allow time for staff preparation.

Free COVID testing event for Ely and surrounding communities: Tues, Oct 6, noon-6 pm, at St Louis County/Ely Public Works Facility, 2210 East Sheridan Street. This is the less invasive nasal swab test. Preregistration is recommended to reduce wait times: primarybio.com/r/saintlouis

WELY will have live coverage of the Minnesota State High School League Nordic Ski meet. The girl's meet starts Thursday at 1pm and the boy's meet is Friday at 1pm. Tune in at 94.5 FM in the Ely area or the live stream at wely.com.

Near-critical fire weather conditions today across northern Minnesota. #mnwx

Greenwood Fire is on track to head toward Hwy. 1 after last night's activity. There are six fire departments protecting structures in the McDougal Lake area including Morse-Fall Lake, Ely, Babbitt, Silver Bay, Two Harbors and Finland. Another dry, hot day with winds gusting to 20

Due to the recent increased fire activity, the Ely Fire Department and the Ely Police Department have made the decision to postpone the Public Safety Open House to later in the fall. Please pass the word along. We are looking forward to seeing everyone this fall.

USFS posts new closure map that extends into BWCA for Greenwood Fire. In addition to more road closures, sections of the Prospector ATV Trail are also closed.

Greenwood Fire at 3,200 acres in this map. Wildfire - #GreenwoodFire Map Link: napsg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappvie… #FireMappers

The Greenwood fire grew to 4,734 acres with no containment. Day and night shift fire crews continued structure protection on the west side within the Highway 2 corridor, McDougal and Stony River areas. There are no reports of structures lost.

AT 1429 THE LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE IS STARTING EVACUATIONS IN THE AREA AROUND HWY 1 NEAR HWY 2 AND ON THE TOMAHAWK TRAIL AMONGST OTHER ROADS IN THE AREA. THERE WILL BE DEPUTIES CHECKING IN ON EACH ADDRESS THAT NEEDS TO BE EVACUATED BECAUSE OF THE GREENWOOD FIRE

The Greenwood Fire jumped over to the west side of Highway 2, just north of Stony Lake. Fire crews and aircraft are responding. PThe fire crossed over a point designated as a Management Action Point, triggering evacuations in the Sand Lake and Stony Lake areas.

CONFIRMED: BWCA will close today. Refunds are being processed for permits within the BWCA beginning Aug. 21, due to multiple fires and extreme drought.

MN National Guard: Two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters with Bambi water buckets are in Northern Minnesota to provide support to DNR wildfire activities by providing aerial fire suppression capabilities. 16 soldiers and two airmen from the 148th Fighter Wing have been activated.

*UPDATE * Starting Sunday night, dispersed camping will be prohibited in state forests in NORTHERN St. Louis County and ALL of Cook, Lake, and Koochiching counties.

Crews are investigating the cause of a large outage affecting more than 700 members in the Ely area this morning.

A major equipment malfunction prevented us from broadcasting tonight's Ely high school football game. We apologize for the inconvenience.