Combined acreage overall of the July Lightning Incident is 63,594 acres in the United States and an additional 8,412 acres in Canada. Estimated acreage of the Little Knife Fire is 4,598 acres. There are a total of 962 personnel on the July Lightning Incident. Containment estimates continue to increase based on current fire behavior, fuels, weather and natural barriers like lakes and waterways. Containment is a dynamic figure and can rise and fall based on fire activity. The public is being asked to support firefighters and public safety by adhering to all evacuations, closures, and fire restrictions; by refraining from flying drones, which endanger firefighting aircraft; and by keeping boats off the water in areas where water-gathering aircraft are operating. Fires reported on this update may change as some fires have merged or been moved into patrol status.

Superior National Forest: In an effort to re-open select areas of the BWCAW (as fire activity, weather and resources allows) the Forest Service is evaluating BWCAW Quota Recreation.gov permits on a daily basis.  BWCAW permits are currently cancelled through July 24, 2026.  A Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) Closure Order is in place to protect public and firefighter health and safety until October 1 or until rescinded or updated. 

Superior National Forest Forest-wide Fire Restrictions are in effect.

Minnesota DNR fire restrictions are in effect.

Mostly sunny skies today will allow temperatures to warm into the 70s. The warmer temperatures create much drier air with relative humidities falling to 32-39% in the afternoon. While northwesterly winds will be slower than yesterday, gusts will still reach 12-18 miles per hour by late afternoon.  

Vegetative fuels will continue to dry today and areas with more exposure to sun and wind will be the first to see open flames. Areas where smoldering and creeping occurred over the last few days will begin to transition to surface fire spread. Fire behavior is expected to become more active through the end of the week as temperatures climb and winds remain steady.  

The Chub Fire is the most active fire in this area. All the fires have firefighters and engines working on a variety of firefighting tactics including building line, mopping up, and patrolling and monitoring. There is a combined containment of 85% on these eleven fires. Crews have also been identified to assist with initial attack in this area for any new fires that are detected.

On the evening of July 6, a dry thunderstorm moved across northeastern Minnesota and southern Canada resulting in more than 1,000 lightning strikes, causing dozens of fire starts. As unprecedented dry and warm conditions followed in the days after, fires were detected across Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties. Where fires were accessible by ground, firefighters were able to work to keep some of the fire perimeters small in size, however due to the number of fires, locations and number of firefighters and equipment, some of the fires continued to smolder and grow in the following days. Local fire managers ordered many additional resources including engines, hand crews, aviation resources and two incident management teams to support the firefighting efforts. While some of the fires were contained, several have continued to grow due to record breaking high temperatures and low humidity. Additional firefighters, equipment and support staff continue to be ordered including a Complex Incident Management Team.