Wildfire — Central St. Louis, Minnesota

2007-05-05 to 2007-05-19 · Central St. Louis, Minnesota

Wider weather episode

A major forest fire broke out near Ham Lake on May 5th due to an unattended campfire, and was called the Ham Lake Fire. The fire spread north across the upper portions of the Gunflint Trail, and into Canada, destroying 61 homes on the Minnesota side, and slightly more smaller structures. Property damage was estimated at 4 million dollars. The fire was 100% contained on the U.S. side on May 19th, and had consumed more than 36,000 acres in Minnesota (75,000 acres total, including Canada). This would make the Ham Lake Fire even larger than last July's Cavity Lake Fire, which up until now was the largest fire in the area in 100 years.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 34899. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.