National Guard Mobilized to Help Fight Northern Minnesota Wildfires

(KNSI) – Governor Tim Walz has declared a peacetime emergency and authorizing additional assistance to support the ongoing wildfire response efforts in northern Minnesota.

The order comes as unusually dry conditions and lightning strikes have created dangerous wildfire risk across much of northeastern Minnesota. Since Friday, multiple fires have ignited in portions of Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties, threatening lives, property, and critical infrastructure. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for extreme fire risk as conditions remain favorable for rapid fire growth and spread.

At the request of the Department of Natural Resources, the order authorizes the Minnesota National Guard to provide personnel, equipment, and resources to assist with wildfire suppression and emergency response efforts.

On Saturday, the U.S. Forest Service closed 225,000 acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness because of multiple wildfires and continued dry conditions. The agency reports 17 wildfires have started in and around the BWCAW in the last week, prompting evacuations and the closure of multiple trails and entry points. The fires are impacting the northwest part of the wilderness area, between Ely and Crane Lake, north of the Echo Trail and south of Lac La Croix along the Canadian border.

The Minnesota DNR is separately leading the response on five other fires in the same area.

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