Minnesota Incident Command System - MNICS

06/14/2026

Due to dry conditions, high winds, and low humidity, the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for today, June 14, for parts of northeast Minnesota.

While the Red Flag Warning is in effect:

❌Don’t burn brush and yard debris!

❗Campfires are discouraged in the are where Red Flag Warnings are in effect.

⚠️Be extra cautious with outdoor activities that could produce heat or a spark. Campfires are discouraged.

👀Check ash piles from wood-burning stoves or heaters and any recent fire for lingering heat. Embers can stay hot for days, even months, and rekindle in Red Flag conditions. If you find heat, drown with water, stir, and repeat until it's out COLD.

Check current fire danger and burning restrictions at mndnr.gov/burnrestrictions

06/07/2026

MNICS Team A has transferred command of the Birch Bay Fire back to the Superior National Forest's local Type 4 Incident Commander today, May 7th, 2026.

Thank you to Ely Outdoor Learning Center for hosting our team! We would like to express our gratitude to the Superior National Forest, St. Louis County Sheriff's Department, St. Louis County Emergency Management, MN DNR Law Enforcement, Local Fire Departments from Morse Fall Lake, Ely, Babbit and Eagles Nest, and other local community stakeholders for helping to support our team.

We would like to say THANK YOU to the community within and around Ely, MN for accommodating all of the cooperating resources, local fire departments, wildland firefighter crews, heavy equipment operators, aircraft, local, county, state, and federal firefighters who arrived to suppress the Birch Bay Fire.

06/06/2026

06/05/2026

⚠️ Fire Weather Watch Issued - Sunday, June 7, 2026 ⚠️
Heads up Koochiching, North St. Louis & North Itasca counties, hot, dry and breezy weather is forecast for this upcoming Sunday and will lead to critical fire weather conditions. The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) has issued the Fire Weather Watch for Sunday afternoon & evening due to the expected breezy southerly winds, low relative humidity and hot temperatures.
👀Stay alert! Critical fire weather conditions can lead to potential red flag warning.
☑️ Burning restrictions remain in place the affected areas.
☑️ That your campfires remain small no larger than 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall and dare out cold before you leave. If coals are warm to the touch using the back of your hand, drown, stir, and repeat until that campfire is completely out cold.
📞- Call 911 to report a wildfire.
Visit www.weather.gov for current weather updates.

06/05/2026

Thank you for a successful Wildfire Academy! We are so grateful to all the instructors, students, and partners across Grand Rapids who helped make this week possible.

In total, we had 482 students, 97 instructors, 18 courses, 17 Incident Management Team Members, plus additional support staff, including EMTs, Division leads, trainees, and Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa crew members who helped with logistics.

Students came from across Minnesota, as well as California, Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, with representatives from 14 fire departments and 15 different organizations, including private, non-profit, state, and federal agencies.

We couldn’t do it without the helpful staff from Minnesota North College – Itasca Campus staff, University of Minnesota North Central Research and Outreach Center staff, Visit Grand Rapids, Itasca County Emergency Management, the Grand Rapids Fire Department, local law enforcement, and the many businesses across town.

06/05/2026

Congratulations to the 57 students who will become qualified as Firefighter Type 2 (FFT2) after completing the Basic Wildland Firefighter course (S130,-S190, L280) today at the Minnesota Wildfire Academy!

This five-day course combines classroom knowledge with hands-on and live fire experiences. Students learn about firefighting skills and tools, wildland fire behavior, and human factors, including decision-making, situational awareness, and crew communication. Students went out to the field and practiced using pumps, sprinklers, hoses, hand tools, and firing devices. Practical exercises like these help students build awareness needed to operate safely and effectively in prescribed and wildland fire operations and ensure our future wildland firefighters are prepared to protect lives, property, and natural resources when duty calls.

Students include those new to wildland fire, as well as structural fire department staff interested in gaining experience and qualifications in wildland fire response.

📸 Photos:

Hands-on training with fuses. These slow-burning friction matches are used during prescribed burns and emergency escape operations.

An instructor reviews how to use drip torches with students.

Students practice throwing and rolling hose.

An instructor reviews a progressive hose lay with students.

06/04/2026

​Before visiting the Superior National Forest, there is information you should know about. In the Alerts section you will find information about current co...

06/04/2026

Minnesota Wildfire Academy students taking the S-290 Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior course this week are taking a deeper dive into learning the role weather plays on how quickly fuels (grass, brush and timber) catch and carry wildfires.

Weather can change rapidly during a wildfire, especially during thunderstorm events, which can produce drastic wind shifts, lightning and downbursts. Knowing and understanding weather conditions and how fuels will react play an important role in making safe decisions on how to engage while suppressing wildfires.

📸 Pictured here:

A Remote Automatic Weather Station, which is portable and can be set up quickly near an active wildfire. It tracks temperature, wind speed, and humidity, which can be checked regularly on-site and also transmits data every hour for remote monitoring. The S-290 students are tasked with collecting real-time data to run calculations during class.

Students checked weather conditions, then timed fire movement through dried leaves on flat and sloped surfaces. After, they calculated how fast a wildfire would move through this fuel type in a larger setting and discussed how slope increases fire spread, even when weather conditions are similar.