MNMNS Evergreen Forest

Last updated: 2024-10-19

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The type of incident is Wildfire and involves the following unit(s) Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

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State: Minnesota

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Coordinates:

Latitude: 45° 50 55 Longitude: 92° 47 6

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NOTE: All fire perimeters and points are approximations.

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Incident Overview: The Evergreen Forest Fire was detected late in the afternoon on Thursday, October 17, in the vicinity of the Chengwatana State Forest, east of Pine City, Minnesota. The fire is estimated to be 140 acres burning in a remote are of the State Forest mainly in lowland swamp and heavy timber. There are no known threats to structures or infrastructure. The Minnesota DNR is leading the response, and initially received mutual aid support from the Pine City Fire Department. Multiple aircraft capable of dropping water and fire retardant have been utilized to help cool and slow down the active fire along the edges, which helps support the firefighters, engines and other heavy equipment working to control the fire on the ground.  After Thursday’s extreme fire weather event, conditions have improved slightly with humidity recovering above 25% and calmer winds, but near-critical fire weather remains a concern. The area is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, and wildfires that develop in these conditions are requiring more effort to control and extinguish.