Phil defies the warning in the BWCA

My canoe comrade, Phil, and I ate lunch at this deserted campsite just before fire consumed it.

Not really. In fact we did not even notice this sign until we began to make our lunch. It was hung on the other side of the site. However, smoke had been noticable around the lakes we were coming through (Alpine and Red Rock).
Although we were in the vicinity of the fire for a few days we never saw anything but smoke and planes flying overhead. Phil had first seen the smoke on August 6th as we were heading east into "O gosh it's gumbie" Lake (Phil's rendering of the lake name). We never met the flames.