Minnesota · Active · 30,824 acres
Bear Trap Fire, Minnesota
30,824
Acres reported
48%
Contained
+714
Acres since yesterday
Last updated · refreshed every 15 minutes from the NIFC WFIGS feed · awareness only — follow local authorities
Update ·
As of Aug 18, 2026, 09:15 UTC, the Bear Trap Fire is listed as active at 30,824 acres, 48% contained, in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Since Aug 17, 2026, 09:00 UTC: +714 acres.
The most recent mapped perimeter (Aug 17, 2026, 20:33 UTC) covers 30,872 acres; the mapped perimeter has been updated 41 times since the fire began.
No satellite heat detections matched to this incident in the last 24 hours (last one Aug 14, 2026, 08:26 UTC).
Bear Trap Fire map
The most recent mapped perimeter (solid) and the previous day's perimeter (dashed), with the reported point of origin.
Latest perimeter Previous perimeter · Perimeters come from the WFIGS interagency perimeter service and are usually mapped once a day; the mapped area can differ from the reported acreage.
Key facts
- Size
- 30,824 acres
- Containment
- 48%
- Status
- Active
- Discovered
- Jul 7, 2026
- Location
- St. Louis County, Minnesota
- Origin point
- 48.1845, -91.9247
- Peak reported size
- 37,623 acres
- Perimeter mapped
- Aug 17, 2026 (13 hours ago)
- Satellite heat, 24 h
- none matched
Nearest towns
Distances are from the reported point of origin, not from the fire’s edge (see the perimeter map for the current extent).
- Ely, MN
- Babbitt, MN
- Hoyt Lakes, MN
- Aurora, MN
- Virginia, MN
Other fires nearby
Bear Trap Fire daily history
The largest size and containment reported each UTC day, from our 15-minute archive of the federal feed (first seen Jul 7, 2026, 22:45 UTC).
| Day (UTC) | Reported size | Change | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2026 | 30,824 acres | 0 | 48% |
| Aug 17, 2026 | 30,824 acres | +714 | 48% |
| Aug 16, 2026 | 30,110 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 30,110 acres | +119 | — |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 29,991 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 13, 2026 | 29,991 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 12, 2026 | 29,991 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 11, 2026 | 29,991 acres | −31 | — |
| Aug 10, 2026 | 30,022 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 9, 2026 | 30,022 acres | +317 | — |
| Aug 8, 2026 | 29,705 acres | −9 | — |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 29,714 acres | −50 | — |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 29,764 acres | −14 | — |
| Aug 5, 2026 | 29,778 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 4, 2026 | 29,778 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 3, 2026 | 29,778 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 2, 2026 | 29,778 acres | 0 | — |
| Aug 1, 2026 | 29,778 acres | +4 | — |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 29,774 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 30, 2026 | 29,774 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 29, 2026 | 29,774 acres | +7 | — |
| Jul 28, 2026 | 29,767 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 27, 2026 | 29,767 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 26, 2026 | 29,767 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 25, 2026 | 29,767 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 24, 2026 | 29,767 acres | +28 | — |
| Jul 23, 2026 | 29,739 acres | +57 | — |
| Jul 22, 2026 | 29,682 acres | −7,941 | — |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 37,623 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 20, 2026 | 37,623 acres | +3,078 | — |
| Jul 19, 2026 | 34,545 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 34,545 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 17, 2026 | 34,545 acres | +21,045 | — |
| Jul 16, 2026 | 13,500 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 15, 2026 | 13,500 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 14, 2026 | 13,500 acres | +12,800 | — |
| Jul 13, 2026 | 700 acres | +150 | — |
| Jul 12, 2026 | 550 acres | +500 | — |
| Jul 11, 2026 | 50 acres | +46 | — |
| Jul 10, 2026 | 4.0 acres | +2 | — |
| Jul 9, 2026 | 2.0 acres | +2 | — |
| Jul 8, 2026 | 0.5 acres | 0 | — |
| Jul 7, 2026 | 0.1 acres | — | — |
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Bear Trap Fire questions, answered from the data
How big is the Bear Trap Fire?
As of Aug 18, 2026, 09:15 UTC, the Bear Trap Fire is reported at 30,824 acres (peak reported size 37,623 acres). Since Aug 17, 2026, 09:00 UTC: +714 acres.
Is the Bear Trap Fire contained?
Not fully. It was 48% contained as of Aug 18, 2026, 09:15 UTC. Containment is the share of the fire's edge that has a control line; it is reported by the incident team and can lag the ground situation.
Where is the Bear Trap Fire?
The reported point of origin is at 48.1845, -91.9247 in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Nearest towns: Ely (20 mi S), Babbitt (33 mi S), Hoyt Lakes (47 mi S). The map on this page shows the most recent mapped perimeter.
Is the Bear Trap Fire still burning?
The federal feed still lists it as active as of Aug 18, 2026, 09:15 UTC; no satellite heat detections were matched to it in the last 24 hours.
Where do I find evacuation orders for the Bear Trap Fire?
From the county sheriff and local emergency management, not from this site. Check the official Minnesota sources on our Minnesota page and your county’s alert system. FireRiskHere is for awareness only.
How current is this page?
The numbers come from the National Interagency Fire Center's WFIGS incident feed and the WFIGS perimeter service, refreshed every 15 minutes, plus NASA FIRMS satellite detections hourly. This page was last updated Aug 18, 2026, 09:15 UTC. Acreage and containment are what the incident team reports and can lag by hours.
About this page
This page is generated automatically for every wildfire whose reported size reaches 1,000 acres, from FireRiskHere’s archive of the National Interagency Fire Center’s WFIGS incident feed (captured every 15 minutes), the WFIGS interagency perimeter service, and NASA FIRMS satellite detections. It stays online after the fire is contained as a record of the incident. Nothing here is an official notice — for evacuation orders and road closures follow your county sheriff and local emergency management. How the site works →