Minnesota wildfires explode in size destroying homes, impacting air quality as dangerous fire weather persists
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Minn. – Wildfires have exploded in size across parts of northeastern Minnesota north of Lake Superior, destroying at least 40 homes and buildings, as unseasonably high temperatures and low humidity will continue to drive dangerous fire weather on Tuesday.
A trio of fires burning in St. Louis and Lake counties have scorched tens of thousands of acres and prompted evacuations.
Gov. Tim Walz activated the state's National Guard on Monday to help with fire suppression.
Fire Weather Warnings have been posted for most of Minnesota outside of Minneapolis, as well as the eastern half of the Dakotas.
Significant Heat Wave Expected Across Texas Could Break All-time May Records
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert for most of northeastern Minnesota through Tuesday.
According to the St. Louis County Sheriff, the Camp House Fire, also known as the Brimson Fire, jumped to 12,000 acres on Tuesday – it was less than 2,000 acres as of Monday evening.
The fire has destroyed more than 40 homes and cabins, mostly along State Highway 44, and is not currently contained.
The Jennings Creek Fire, several miles to the northeast, has reached 6,800 acres and is also uncontained, according to the sheriff.
A third fire in the area, the Three Lakes Fire, has burned nearly 1,300 acres.
What Is Fire Containment?
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay warned that burned trees have toppled over and limited road access for some first responders. He said the U.s. Forest Service is providing additional air support on Tuesday.
Fire weather conditions are expected to remain challenging on Tuesday with temperatures rising to 20-30 degrees above average for millions across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.
Olympic Swimmer Presented Replacement Medals Following Loss In California Wildfire
It will be a busy several days for western Minnesota and the northern Plains as wildfire relief will come in the form of severe weather and a flash flood threat.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the heat will begin to depart on Wednesday afternoon, as a strong upper-level disturbance emerges from the West. This disturbance will set the stage for a severe weather event across parts of the Midwest from late Thursday into Thursday night.
Severe storms are forecast to develop by Wednesday evening, bringing rain and strong wind gusts as the primary threat.
The most meaningful rain will be to the west of the areas currently battling wildfires, but showers and thunderstorms will still bring some overall relief to the region.
Noaa's Storm Prediction Center has issued a Level 2 out of 4 risk of severe thunderstorms for an area covering parts of the central Dakotas and into central Nebraska on Wednesday and Wednesday night.
Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis Face Severe Weather Threat As Dangerous Storms Eye Midwest This Week
The backside of the cold front that will bring severe storms will also provide much-needed rain to areas being scorched by wildfires.
By Thursday, a corridor of heavier rain will shift east into eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota. There is the potential for widespread 1- to 2-inch rain totals, with some locally higher amounts, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
NOAA's Weather Prediction Center has issued a Level 1 out of 4 flash flood threat covering Wednesday and Thursday.Original article source: Minnesota wildfires explode in size destroying homes, impacting air quality as dangerous fire weather persists
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Iowa exits statewide air quality alert
Smoke from Canadian wildfires worsened air quality in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government. The fires have forced thousands of Canadians to flee their homes and sent smoke as far as Europe. Iowa issued a statewide air quality alert through early Thursday, urging residents to limit certain outdoor activities and warning of possible health effects due to the thick smoke. Wisconsin officials made similar suggestions as the smoke drifted southeast across the state. In the U.S., smoke lingered on the skylines of cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis, and a swath of the region had unhealthy air quality Wednesday, according to an Environmental Protection Agency map. In Stoughton, Wisconsin, Nature's Garden Preschool was keeping its kids indoors Wednesday due to the bad air quality, which interferes with the daily routine, said assistant teacher Bailey Pollard. The smoke looked like a coming storm, he said. The 16 or 17 kids ages 12 weeks to 5 years old would typically be outdoors running or playing with water, balls and slides, but were instead inside doing crafts with Play-Doh or coloring. The situation was unfortunate because kids need to be outside and have fresh air and free play, Pollard said. 'It's something where we've got to take precaution for the kids,' he said. 'Nobody wants to stay inside all day.' In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, authorities advised people shut windows at night, avoid strenuous activity outside and watch for breathing issues. Parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York had areas of moderate air quality concern, and officials advised sensitive people to consider reducing outdoor activity. Unhealthy conditions persist in Midwest The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert for almost the entire state into Wednesday, but the Twin Cities area got the region's worst of it Tuesday. Children's Minnesota, a network of pediatric clinics and hospitals in the Twin Cities area, has seen a 'modest increase' increase this week in patients with symptoms that doctors attributee to polluted air, Dr. Chase Shutak said. Their symptoms have included breathing problems, including asthma and other upper respiratory issues, said Shutak, who stays in close touch with other pediatricians in his role as medical director of the Minneapolis primary care clinic at Children's. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state's southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people — especially those with heart and lung disease — avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks during strenuous activity outdoors. Conditions at ground level are in the red The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow map showed a swath of red for 'unhealthy' conditions across Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Conditions in northern Michigan also reflected many unhealthy zones. The Air Quality Index was around 160 in many parts of the upper Midwest, indicating poor conditions. The Air Quality Index , or AQI, measures how clean or polluted the air is, indicating which health effects might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the fires. The index ranges from green, indicating satisfactory air quality that poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of emergency conditions, which are more likely to affect everyone. There were areas of reduced air quality all over the U.S. on Wednesday, with numerous advisories about moderate air quality concerns as far from the fires as Kansas and Georgia. The air quality was considerably better Wednesday in Minnesota, where only the barest hint of haze obscured the downtown Minneapolis skyline. The city experienced some of the worst air in the country on Tuesday. But the air quality index, which had reached the mid-200 range, or 'very unhealthy' on Tuesday, was down to 60, or 'moderate,' by Wednesday afternoon. The Canadian fire situation even reaches Europe Canada is having another bad wildfire season. Most of the smoke reaching the American Midwest has been coming from fires northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg in Manitoba. Canada's worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023 and choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. The smoke over western Europe is expected to keep moving eastward, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It's causing hazy skies, but not expected to affect surface-air quality. However, it could rise high enough to be carried that far, indicating the immense size and intensity of the fires, according to Copernicus. Whittle reported from Portland. Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan; and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Forecasting smoke can be "like looking for a needle in a haystack," say meteorologists
Wednesday's air quality made being outside a lot better across the region after the recent smoky stretch. Skies were much more clear, and healthy, compared to Tuesday. For days, wildfire smoke has filled the skies over the Twin Cities, and the entire state. But tracking how that smoke will move from Canada, or when it's going to cause problems at the surface, isn't easy. "You're looking for really kind of small, fine details that end up becoming a big deal. It's akin to severe weather forecasting. You're always kind of looking for a needle in a haystack, and oftentimes those are the things that will make or break your forecast," said Matt Taraldsen, a meteorologist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. He said there are several forecasting models that his team uses, but even the models struggle on such a small scale. "We're always kind of hunting for those mechanisms, like a cold front or a thunderstorm outflow boundary, that will push that smoke down to the ground and hold it there. And the models just, you know, beyond 12 or 24 hours, really have a hard time with any of those types of details." But it's more than just the predictions that are complex. It's the chemisty too. Tuesday is the perfect example since rain typically helps to clean the air. Not this time since they were only light showers. "We really need to have, like, a consistent half inch or more an hour type of rainfall rate to really wash out on particulate matter. Otherwise it just kind of water logs the particles and pushes them down to the ground," Taraldsen explained. He said this outbreak is likely just the beginning — as long as the fires keep burning. "I think it's something that we're doing that definitely have to monitor closely for the rest of the summer. We really just tell people to kind of keep an eye on the forecast. We're always updating it and kind of refining it, and that will give people a good heads up for what they need to do to protect themselves." WCCO's team of meteorologists will always keep you updated on the smoke and air qualily. You can also find the latest air quality alerts and forecasts on the Minnesota Pollution Control agency website.
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Air quality worsens in eastern US as Canadian wildfire smoke hangs over Midwest
PORTLAND, Maine — Smoke from Canadian wildfires started making air quality worse in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government. The fires have forced thousands of Canadians to flee their homes and sent smoke as far as Europe. In the U.S., smoke lingered on the skylines of cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis, and a swath of the region had unhealthy air quality Wednesday, according to an Environmental Protection Agency map. Iowa issued a statewide air quality alert through early Thursday, urging residents to limit certain outdoor activities and warning of possible health effects due to the thick smoke. Wisconsin officials made similar suggestions as the smoke drifted southeast across the state. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, authorities advised people shut windows at night, avoid strenuous activity outside and watch for breathing issues. Parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York had areas of moderate air quality concern, and officials advised sensitive people to consider reducing outdoor activity. New Hampshire authorities hoped conditions would improve by late Wednesday. 'The particle air pollution event is the result of extensive wildfires in central and western Canada,' the state's Department of Environmental Services said. 'Wind patterns are forecasted to transport plumes of smoke from these fires across much of New England and New Hampshire.' The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert for almost the entire state into Wednesday, but the Twin Cities area got the region's worst of it Tuesday. 'As the smoke continues to move across the state Tuesday, air quality will slowly improve from northwest to southeast for the remainder of the alert area,' the agency said. 'The smoke is expected to leave the state by Wednesday at noon.' The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state's southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people — especially those with heart and lung disease — avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks during strenuous activity outdoors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow map showed a swath of red for 'unhealthy' conditions across Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Conditions in northern Michigan also reflected many unhealthy zones. The Air Quality Index was around 160 in many parts of the upper Midwest, indicating poor conditions. The Air Quality Index — AQI — measures how clean or polluted the air is, indicating which health effects might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the fires. The index ranges from green, indicating satisfactory air quality that poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of emergency conditions which are more likely to affect everyone. There were areas of reduced air quality all over the U.S. on Wednesday, with numerous advisories about moderate air quality concerns as far from the fires as Kansas and Georgia. Canada is having another bad wildfire season. Most of the smoke reaching the American Midwest has been coming from fires northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg in Manitoba. Canada's worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023 and choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. This season's Canadian wildfires are so large and intense that the smoke is even reaching Europe, where it is causing hazy skies but isn't expected to affect surface-air quality, according to the European climate service Copernicus. The smoke over western Europe is expected to keep moving eastward, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It's causing hazy skies, but not expected to affect surface-air quality. However, it could rise high enough to be carried that far, indicating the immense size and intensity of the fires, according to Copernicus.
