Minnesota wildfires

Bear Trap Fire

ContainedSt. Louis County, Minnesota2026Wildfire

The Bear Trap Fire was reported on July 7, 2026 in St. Louis County, Minnesota and burned 30,804 acres. It is 100 percent contained. The cause is listed as natural.

Size
30,804 acres
Contained
100%
Discovered
July 7, 2026
Personnel
18

Map

Perimeter mapped August 13, 2026 at 9:15 PM CDT, 30,804 acres (ir image interpretation). Point of origin 48.185, -91.925.

Live radar at the fire Forecast for Ely

The incident

Size
30,804 acres
Containment
100%
Discovered
July 7, 2026 at 5:12 PM CDT
Cause
Natural
Location
20 Miles N from Ely, MN
County
St. Louis County
State
Minnesota
Nearest city reported
Ely
Protecting agency
USFS
Jurisdiction
USFS
Land ownership at origin
USFS
Personnel assigned
18
Incident management
Type 4 IC, Type 4 Incident
Primary fuel
Closed Timber Litter
Estimated cost to date
$56,767,493
Incident type
Wildfire
Unique fire identifier
2026-MNSUF-002394
IRWIN identifier
1BB1F12F-DB68-40B0-8D7B-FA0E4FCEE2E4

Growth

Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from July 12, 2026 (50 acres) to August 22, 2026 (30,804 acres). The largest one-day growth was 28,086 acres, mapped July 16, 2026.

DayAcresChange
July 12, 202650
July 14, 20266,336+6,286
July 16, 202634,422+28,086
July 17, 202634,546+124
July 18, 202636,560+2,014
July 19, 202637,623+1,063
July 20, 202637,744+121
July 21, 202629,673-8,071
July 22, 202629,674+1
July 23, 202629,739+65
July 24, 202629,767+28
July 27, 202629,7670
July 30, 202629,752-15
July 31, 202629,7520
August 1, 202629,778+26
August 5, 202629,764-14
August 6, 202629,714-50
August 7, 202629,705-9
August 8, 202630,022+317
August 10, 202629,991-31
August 13, 202629,9910
August 16, 202630,824+833
August 17, 202630,872+48
August 18, 202630,815-57
August 19, 202630,810-5
August 20, 202630,8100
August 21, 202630,806-4
August 22, 202630,804-2

Weather at the fire

  • Wind up to 10 mph from the southeast
  • Relative humidity as low as 46%
  • High of 63°F

National Weather Service hourly forecast for the fire’s point of origin, next 24 hours.

Full forecast for Ely, MN

Alerts in force

Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches covering the fire's point of origin.

No Red Flag Warning or Fire Weather Watch is in force at the fire.

Smoke

NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts have not drawn smoke over the fire’s origin today.

NOAA’s smoke model forecasts near-surface smoke at the origin peaking at 0 µg/m³ around Tue, 9:00 AM CDT over the next 48 hours.

Smoke and fire layers on the radar

Nearby

Minnesota wildfires today Wildfires of 2026 All current fires

Incident record from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS), as the incident’s managers report it; last updated September 8, 2026 at 5:41 PM CDT. Identifier 2026-MNSUF-002394.