Thumb Fire

Perimeter mapped August 5, 2026 at 8:30 PM CDT, 25,015 acres (mixed methods). Point of origin 48.288, -92.192.

Live radar at the fire Forecast for Ely

Size

25,015 acres

Containment

100%

Discovered

July 7, 2026 at 5:32 PM CDT

Cause

Natural

Location

5 Miles S from Lac la Croix, MN

County

St. Louis County

State

Minnesota

Nearest city reported

Ely

Protecting agency

USFS

Jurisdiction

USFS

Land ownership at origin

USFS

Personnel assigned

3

Incident management

Type 4 IC, Type 4 Incident

Primary fuel

Closed Timber Litter

Estimated cost to date

$4,450,205

Incident type

Wildfire

Unique fire identifier

2026-MNSUF-002396

IRWIN identifier

95CE0306-59C6-4E05-B2CC-40C69E601413

Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from July 11, 2026 (100 acres) to August 20, 2026 (25,015 acres). The largest one-day growth was 9,487 acres, mapped July 15, 2026.

• Wind up to 5 mph from the southeast
• Relative humidity as low as 44%
• High of 62°F

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

Full forecast for Ely, MN

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.

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 Sun, 5:00 PM CDT over the next 48 hours.

Smoke and fire layers on the radar

• Ely, MN31 miles southeast of the fire’s origin
• Babbitt, MN42 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Aurora, MN52 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Hoyt Lakes, MN53 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Virginia, MN55 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Parkville, MN55 miles south of the fire’s origin