Near-Critical Fire Weather Conditions Expected Through Monday

Drought conditions in Minnesota have gotten worse, with parts of Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, and Beltrami counties now in exceptional drought. Humidity will remain low all weekend, and the next chance of rain is not until Tuesday evening. The next few days will be warm and windy, with gusts up to 20mph.

Due to the low relative humidity and gusty winds, portions of central and northeastern Minnesota are currently facing near-critical fire weather conditions. This includes International Falls, Ely, Hibbing, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Grand Marais, Grand Rapids Brainerd, Aitkin, Duluth, and Hinckley. With these conditions, if a fire were to start, it would spread rapidly more easily.

Experts say if a fire were to start, it would be more difficult and require more resources to put out. So far this summer, there have been at least three times the average number of fires in Minnesota. There were 228 fires in the month of June and 251 in July.

According to MNICS, humans cause nine in ten fires in Minnesota. To help prevent this, burn restrictions are in effect for many areas. Updated burn restrictions can be found online for both Minnesota and Wisconsin.