Started on Jul 9, 2026.
United States todayLive
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Fire view
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
Quick facts
- Location
- 33 miles northwest of Ely, MN
- People working on it
- 14 people
- Complexity
- Type 1 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
- ModerateFlanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.Isolated Torching — Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
- Jurisdiction
- USFS · Federal land
Glossary: what each term means
Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.
Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Spreads with low, steady flames.
Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.
Fast and unpredictable.
Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.
Grows along the sides, not head-on.
Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.
Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.
Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.
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.
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 through closed timber litter in St. Louis County, the Wolfpack Fire near Ely, Minnesota, has spent 37 days on the landscape, averaging an approximate daily growth of 186 acres per day. Fire behavior has recently been characterized as moderate, featuring flanking, backing, and isolated torching. Satellites are picking up a moderate heat signature from the incident, with NASA FIRMS registering 12 heat detections in the past 48 hours to highlight the extent of the spread.
Despite its prolonged run, full containment has been achieved at 6,871 acres. Federal land managed by the USFS saw a response consisting of 14 personnel operating under a Complex Incident Management Team for this Type 1 Incident. Suppression costs for the effort reached $284,312.
This incident unfolds during a regional fire season that typically spans from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 2,909,844 hectares burned so far in 2026, tracking 47% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Minnesota for 67 days. So far it has affected roughly 6,871 acres — about 28 km². The perimeter is 100% contained.
In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,216,670 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 41% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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Community reports
Reports from people near the fire · unverified
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Not official emergency information. In an emergency, contact fire services/authorities.
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