Little Knife Fire

Lake County, Minnesota · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Sep 1, 2026 (about 22 hours ago)
First reported about 7 weeks ago
Metric Now
Size
4,815 acres
Sep 2, 3:00 PM
−143 acres
was 4,958 acres · Aug 2, 5:00 PM
Containment
95%
Sep 2, 3:00 PM
+5 percent
was 90% · Aug 26, 2:00 PM
Crew size
2
Sep 2, 3:00 PM
−2
was 4 · Aug 25, 9:00 PM
Money spent
$2.9M
Sep 2, 3:00 PM
+$321,850
was $2.5M · Aug 4, 12:00 PM

Little Knife Fire and other nearby fires

🔥 Where this fire started Mostly contained Partly contained Containment not reported

Drag or zoom the map to see more fires in the area.

Little Knife Fire summary

The Little Knife Fire is a wildfire near Lake County, Minnesota. It has burned about 4,815 acres (about 4,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 95% of its edge; the other 5% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 7 weeks ago. About 2 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC. We're also tracking 4 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size
4,815 acres
Containment
95%
Discovered
July 15, 2026 (first reported about 7 weeks ago)
Cause
Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Wednesday, September 2nd at 3:00 p.m. CDT.

Weather & fire-spread conditions

No Red Flag Warning. The National Weather Service hasn't flagged this area for dangerous fire-spread conditions right now.

Hot, dry, and windy weather can help a fire grow; cool, calm, or wet weather helps crews. The tags below rate each day for fire spread — green is calm, red can push a fire.

A general fire-weather guide (wind matters most, then how dry it is, then heat), not a prediction of what this fire will do.

This Afternoon

77°F · Mostly Sunny

Wind 0 to 5 mph NW · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Tonight

53°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 0 mph · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Thursday

76°F · Sunny

Wind 0 to 5 mph E · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Thursday Night

55°F · Partly Cloudy then Chance Rain Showers

Wind 5 mph E · 30% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Some rain

Friday

75°F · Chance Rain Showers

Wind 5 mph E · 30% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Some rain

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Wednesday, September 2nd at 3:00 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 2 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 4 IC. The government rates it a Type 4 Incident. About $3 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:

Nearby fires to Little Knife Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 4 other active fires, closest first:

See all active fires in Minnesota →

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