Bear Trap Fire

St. Louis County, Minnesota · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Aug 15, 2026 (1 day ago)

First reported about 6 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	30,098 acres Aug 15, 6:01 PM	30,110 acres Aug 17, 8:00 AM +12 acres was 30,098 acres · Aug 15, 6:01 PM	+12 acres in 1 day
Containment	44% Aug 14, 6:00 PM	45% Aug 17, 8:00 AM +1 percent was 44% · Aug 14, 6:00 PM	+1 percent in 3 days
Crew size	431 Aug 15, 6:01 PM	449 Aug 17, 8:00 AM +18 was 431 · Aug 15, 6:01 PM	+18 in 1 day
Money spent	$40.6M Aug 15, 6:01 PM	$39.6M Aug 17, 8:00 AM −$1.0M was $40.6M · Aug 15, 6:01 PM	−$1.0M in 1 day

Bear Trap Fire summary

The Bear Trap Fire is a wildfire near St. Louis County, Minnesota. It has burned about 30,110 acres (about 23,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 45% of its edge; the other 55% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 6 weeks ago. About 449 people are on it, run by a Complex Incident Management Team.

Size: 30,110 acres
Containment: 45%
Discovered: July 7, 2026 (first reported about 6 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, August 17th at 8:00 a.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 449 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Complex Incident Management Team. The government rates it a Type 1 Incident (the highest complexity level). About $40 million has been spent on it so far.

The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.

Where to get live updates

We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:

→ Watch Duty: real-time fire reporting and evacuations.
→ InciWeb: the government's official fire information site.

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