Wildfire — Central St. Louis, Minnesota

2025-05-11 to 2025-05-31 · Central St. Louis, Minnesota

Event narrative

The Camp House fire began on Sunday, May 11, 2025, at approximately 2PM local time in Ault Township, about two miles northeast of Brimson, Minnesota, outside the Superior National Forest. The fire was initially reported at 750 acres and expanded rapidly due to dry conditions, gusty winds, and a large volume of dead timber, particularly in areas infested with spruce budworms. It is believed to have been started by an unattended campfire. The fire moved into the Superior National Forest, causing closures and evacuations. Initial fire behavior included crown fires and rapid spread through dense forest, fueled by widespread dead and dying trees.

At least 144 structures, primarily homes and cabins along Highway 44, were destroyed by the fire's initial spread. Initially, mandatory evacuations were put in place for Highway 44 and nearby communities, and evacuation centers were established to assist displaced residents.

On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, the the local Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) area forestry assumed management of the Camp House fire. Firefighting operations continued into June with the fire not being 100% contained until the morning of June 13th. The fire reached a maximum size of 12,071 acres and affected around 150 structures.

Wider weather episode

The month of May began with overall dry conditions across the county. Green up had not occurred yet following the winter allowing fire weather conditions to increase during the first two weeks of the month. By the 11th and 12th, very warm, dry and breezy southerly winds were in place and three large fires started over those two days, the Camp House fire, the Jenkins Creek fire and the Munger Shaw fire. The fires spread quickly in those conditions and outside resources were called in to fight the fires. The Munger Shaw fire reached 1,259 acres in size and was contained on the afternoon of June 13th. The Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires were in fairly close proximity and were managed as one as the Brimson Complex. Containment for these two fires was not achieved until mid June with the Camp House reaching 12,071 acres in size and Jenkins Creek 16,490 acres. Around 150 structures were affected by the fires with most of them in the Camp House fire.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1264655. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.