Thumb Fire, Ely, Minnesota (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 72

10,123Hectares25,015Acres72Days burning

Containment100%

Started on Jul 7, 2026.

United States todayLive

104Active965Hotspots 48h1.4 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

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Thumb Fire (Minnesota) — Sentinel-2 true color

Thumb Fire (Minnesota) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

True view Fire view

⟷

True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Active fires nearby3 · 100 km

26KM EWildfire near Lac la Croix3,448 ha 64KM NEWildfire near Atikokan (Jun 30 · SW)42,273 ha 65KM EWildfire near Rainy River25,476 ha

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 5 miles south of Lac la Croix, MN
Cause: Natural
People working on it: 3 people
Complexity: Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Closed Timber Litter
How it's behaving: MinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Jurisdiction: USFS · Federal land

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

Burning for 63 days near Ely, Minnesota, the Thumb Fire has reached 25,015 acres with an average daily growth of approximately 397 acres per day. Located 5 miles south of Lac la Croix in St. Louis County, the natural-cause fire is currently 100 percent contained. Fire behavior is noted as minimal, smoldering, and creeping through closed timber litter on federal land managed by the USFS.

Operations for this Type 4 Incident are overseen by a Type 4 IC with a reduced personnel of 3 individuals, reflecting the stable conditions of the blaze. The total cost to manage the fire has reached $4,450,205.

This incident occurs within a broader national context where 3,188,211 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 42% below the two-decade average for the country, which typically experiences its fire season from June to October.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Minnesota for 71 days. So far it has affected roughly 25,015 acres — about 101 km². The perimeter is 100% contained.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.