The fire started with a lightning strike on August 18th 13 miles east of Ely in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The fire smoldered and remained at a half acre for seven days, then the fire grew to 130 acres after 12 days.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS DLH wrote it up.
The fire started with a lightning strike on August 18th 13 miles east of Ely in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The fire smoldered and remained at a half acre for seven days, then the fire grew to 130 acres after 12 days. On September 12 gusty, dry winds of 35 knots and very low relative humidity of 18% spread the fire 16 miles to the east. The fire ended up covering 150 square miles, or 92,682 acres. By October 22 the fire was 93% contained and unstaffed. The cost of suppression was $22.3 million. There was little property damage as the fire occurred in uninhabited federal land. However, many campers had to be evacuated. This was the biggest fire in Minnesota history since the historic Cloquet Fire of 1918.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 17, 8:32 PM CST, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 932 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011 .DISCUSSION... WINDS HAVE DIMINISHED THIS EVENING...AND UNDER CLEAR SKIES...TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN DROPPING QUICKLY. THE FORECAST IS IN GOOD SHAPE...AND FEW CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE. THE 00Z NAM HAS BACKED OFF ON DEVELOPING PRECIP OVER OUR SOUTHWEST ZONES LATE TONIGHT...BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR AS SHOWERS/STORMS HAVE BEEN EXPANDING OVER EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA/SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA THIS EVENING BUT BETTER WAA SHOULD REMAIN WEST OF OUR CWA TONIGHT. .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 642 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011/ AVIATION.../0Z TAF ISSUANCE/ WESTERLY WINDS WILL DIMINISH BY SUNSET. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THIS TAF FORECAST PERIOD. WINDS INCREASE FROM THE SOUTHWEST BY 16Z...THOUGH NOT AS BREEZY AS WAS EARLIER TODAY. EXPECTING MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OF 10 TO 12 KNOTS WITHOUT ANY GUSTS. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 317 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011/ DISCUSSION... TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... MAIN CONCERN IN THE SHORT TERM IS FOCUSED AROUND THE CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL LATE TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND THROUGH THE EVENING...WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME POSSIBLY STRONG TO SEVERE...MAINLY ACROSS THE SRN THIRD OF THE CWA IN E-CNTRL MN. A BROAD UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE STILL REMAINS POSITIONED OVER THE SRN/SWRN SECTIONS OF THE CONUS...WITH AN UPPER S/W TROUGH IN NRN ONTARIO...AND THE NEXT INCOMING SHRT WV EXTENDING FROM THE NRN CANADIAN ROCKIES SWRD ALONG THE PAC W COAST. AT THE SFC...HIGH PRESSURE IS DOMINATING MOST OF THE MIDWEST WITH A DEEP LOW IN NRN ONTARIO GENERATING A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT THROUGH NRN MN. GUSTY WEST WINDS THROUGHOUT THE NORTHLAND ARE A RESULT OF THIS TIGHT SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT TODAY. LOCAL OBSERVATIONS HAVE PEAKED WINDS UP AROUND 30 KT...OR 35 MPH...FROM INTL FALLS TO ELY THIS AFTERNOON. WILL SEE THESE WINDS DIMINISH THROUGH THE EVENING AS THE BOUNDARY LAYER COLLAPSES AND THE GRADIENT RELAXES. EXPECTING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TONIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S AND LOWER 50S. TOMORROW...THE NEXT UPPER S/W AND SFC TROUGH BEGIN TO TAKE SHAPE OVER THE NRN PLAINS/FRONT RANGE OF THE NRN ROCKIES. THROUGH MUCH OF THE MORNING TOMORROW...ERN MN AND MOST OF WI WILL SEE MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES...WHICH WILL ALLOW THE BOUNDARY LAYER TO DESTABILIZE AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING SFC COLD FRONT. THE TIMING OF THE CONVECTION COULD BE TRICKY AS THE MAIN AXIS OF THE SFC TROUGH APPEARS TO REMAIN WELL TO THE WEST OVER THE ERN DAKOTAS...EVEN BY 00Z FRIDAY. COULD SEE ENOUGH HEATING AND INSTABILITY IN THE WARM SECTOR TO INITIATE A FEW STORMS THROUGH MN IN THE LATE AFTERNOON...HOWEVER IT APPEARS THE BEST FORCING AROUND THE FRONT WILL NOT PUSH THROUGH THE REGION UNTIL BETWEEN 06-12Z FRI. SO...COULD HAVE TWO ROUNDS OF PRECIP TOMORROW AND TOMORROW NIGHT. THE FIRST BEING SCATTERED CONVECTION IN THE LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING...AND THE SECOND BEING AFTER MIDNIGHT ALONG THE FRONT. MAIN CONCERNS WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE MAINLY HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ON FRIDAY...A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLY OVER NW WI THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY...BUT SHOULD QUICKLY MOVE OUT OF THE AREA AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE WEST. DRY CONDITIONS WILL DOMINATE THE REGION FROM LATE FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS THE CENTER OF HIGH SETTLES OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST. WARM TEMPERATURES TOMORROW...WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S AND 80S...WILL COOL SLIGHTLY INTO FRI AND SAT...AS HIGHS SLIDE INTO THE LOWER TO MID 70S. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S AND LOWER TO MID 50S WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE PERIOD. EXTENDED...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE START OF THIS PERIOD WILL BEGIN ON A COOL NOTE...WITH LOW TEMPERATURES INTO THE 40S AND POSSIBLY EVEN COOLER FOR SATURDAY NIGHT. H85 TEMPS ARE AS LOW AS +6 OR +7. THE GFS AND ECMWF BOTH DEPICT SOME LIGHT QPF AT VARIOUS TIMES INTO EARLY IN THE WORK WEEK. COULD SEE SOME ELEVATED STORMS AS WAA INITIATES LATER IN THE WEEKEND. MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WILL DEFINITELY BE WARMER...WITH H85 TEMPS REBOUNDING CONSIDERABLY AND GRADUAL AND PROGRESSIVE WAA PERSISTS. SHOULD BE INCREASINGLY HUMID AS WELL. A FEW WEAK SYSTEMS COULD BRING SPOTTY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AT TIMES...BUT THINK IT WILL BE DRY FOR THE MOST PART. NO MAJOR AREAS OF PRECIPITATION ARE EXPECTED. && .POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 55 78 61 75 / 10 10 40 20 INL 47 81 54 74 / 10 20 30 10 BRD 57 80 62 77 / 10 20 40 10 HYR 51 79 59 78 / 10 10 40 30 ASX 56 80 61 78 / 0 10 40 20 && .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...NONE. WI...NONE. LS...NONE. && SHORT TERM...MELDE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 927 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011 MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-181030- KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE- NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE- SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-SOUTHERN ITASCA- SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN AITKIN- CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-ASHLAND-IRON- BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE- 927 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THURSDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE NORTHLAND AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...EXPECTED TO MOVE FROM THE EASTERN DAKOTAS INTO WESTERN MINNESOTA. ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS ALONG THE COLD FRONT...AS IT MOVES THROUGH EASTERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN. AT THE MOMENT...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WITH THESE STORMS...MAINLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM WALKER TO MOOSE LAKE TO SIREN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT. LSZ121-140>148-181030- BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN- GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN- TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN- SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN- DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI- SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI- 927 PM CDT WED AUG 17 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION THURSDAY EVENING AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AS A COLD FRONT TRAVERSES WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. THE STORMS COULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. MELDE MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DULUTH (ALL LOWER CASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, August 2011
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 348481.