Rescue effort underway in BWCA after storms inundate northeastern Minnesota

A rescue effort was underway Tuesday night in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness after a child was injured during thunderstorms that battered northeastern Minnesota.

According to Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen in Grand Marais, there was a medical incident in the BWCAW after a 9-year old boy in a tent was struck by a tree that fell during the storms.

As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, search and rescue crews were on their way to evacuate the boy, but had not yet reached the campsite, according to Eliasen. The sheriff also stated that the evacuation would probably be by boat.

No other details, including where the boy was located in the 1 million-acre wilderness, were available late Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning, a flood warning and related advisories for nearly all of northeastern Minnesota after torrential rains fell on the region.

There were reports of 4 to 8 inches of rainfall as the storms wound down late Tuesday.

Rivers and streams were in danger of rising rapidly, including in the Boundary Waters. Flooding or complete washouts of forest roads and gravel roads were reported in the region, according to the NWS office in Duluth.

On the North Shore, flooding and debris were reported on Minnesota 61 between Silver Bay and Lutsen. Rivers flowing into Lake Superior were rapidly rising and were expected to continue doing so into Wednesday.