Little Knife Fire
The Little Knife Fire was reported on July 15, 2026 in Lake County, Minnesota and burned 4,815 acres. It is 100 percent contained.
- Size
- 4,815 acres
- Contained
- 100%
- Discovered
- July 15, 2026
- Personnel
- 2
Map
Perimeter mapped July 16, 2026 at 8:30 PM CDT, 4,164 acres (mixed methods). Point of origin 48.161, -91.105.
The incident
- Size
- 4,815 acres
- Containment
- 100%
- Discovered
- July 15, 2026 at 9:48 AM CDT
- Cause
- Undetermined
- Location
- 45 Miles NE from Grand Marais, MN
- County
- Lake County
- State
- Minnesota
- Nearest city reported
- Grand Marais
- Protecting agency
- USFS
- Jurisdiction
- USFS
- Land ownership at origin
- USFS
- Personnel assigned
- 2
- Incident management
- Type 4 IC, Type 4 Incident
- Primary fuel
- Timber (Litter and Understory)
- Estimated cost to date
- $2,862,505
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2026-MNSUF-002510
- IRWIN identifier
- 2ABF59D7-9768-4EAA-9728-3187A0A69506
Growth
Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from July 17, 2026 (5,525 acres) to August 27, 2026 (4,164 acres). The largest one-day growth was 65,109 acres, mapped July 19, 2026.
| Day | Acres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| July 17, 2026 | 5,525 | |
| July 19, 2026 | 70,635 | +65,110 |
| July 20, 2026 | 4,958 | -65,677 |
| July 26, 2026 | 4,958 | 0 |
| August 1, 2026 | 4,815 | -143 |
| August 9, 2026 | 4,419 | -396 |
| August 27, 2026 | 4,164 | -255 |
Weather in the area
This fire is no longer listed as current. The forecast for Ely, MN covers the area today.
Nearby
- Ely, MN39 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
- Grand Marais, MN46 miles southeast of the fire’s origin
- Babbitt, MN50 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
- Silver Bay, MN60 miles south of the fire’s origin
- Hoyt Lakes, MN65 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
- Aurora, MN68 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
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 4, 2026 at 3:56 PM CDT. Identifier 2026-MNSUF-002510.