How Do This Spring’s Two Largest Wildfires Compare In Size To The Biggest In Recent Minnesota History?

Unfortunately, this spring saw a pretty big outbreak of wildfires in mid-May across Northern Minnesota, fueled by hot, dry, windy weather that created perfect fire conditions on May 15 and 16.

While dozens of wildfires broke out in a matter of a couple of days, thankfully, most of them were limited in size thanks to firefighting crews quickly tackling them as they popped up.

Despite quick response times, two fires in particular grew much larger than the rest this spring, quickly growing to hundreds of acres in a short period of time.

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Now that those fire scenes are fully contained and under control, here's a look at how they compare to the largest wildfires in recent Minnesota history.

Stewart Trail Fire near Two Harbors, MN

The first of the two fires that grew larger in size than the rest was the Stewart Trail Fire, which ignited just north of Two Harbors, burning a total of 356 acres along the North Shore from Lake County Road 3 to the Silver Cliff Tunnel.

The cause of this fire was determined to be a power line, starting the fire that was discovered around 2 pm on Friday, May 15, 2026. The fire quickly grew along Highway 61, forcing the busy roadway to be closed from Friday afternoon until Tuesday, May 19, when the road was reopened, and evacuation orders were lifted.

A total of 34 structures were lost in the fire, with 8 of them being primary structures and the other 26 being outbuildings.

While this 356-acre fire caused some notable damage, its size is significantly smaller than the other fire that broke out in Minnesota a day later.

Flanders Fire near Breezy Point & Crosslake, MN

The second of this spring's largest wildfires of 2026 to date exploded in a matter of a few hours after being discovered around 1 pm in Mission Township near Breezy Point and Crosslake in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

Within about two hours of being discovered, the Flanders Fire had quickly grown from about 100 acres to around 600 acres. The fire continued to expand to a footprint that fire officials now say is 1,712 acres after recent aerial assessments and mapping.

While officials say hotspots and smoke from within the fire area are still possible for a few weeks, the fire was nearly fully contained by the end of the following week, with County Road 11 through the fire area reopened on May 18 and evacuation orders lifted by midweek.

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While this fire was much larger in size, structural damage was kept to a minimum. Fire crews were able to protect buildings, with a few secondary buildings sustaining fire damage and some primary structures receiving minor impacts like melted siding.

That said, the Flanders Fire was nearly 5 times as large as the Stewart Trail Fire, but the smaller of the two fires caused more structural damage.

The cause of this fire is still under investigation, but the Minnesota DNR has identified people of interest and put out a call to the public for photos or videos from security or trail cameras in the area of Flanders Lake to help with the investigation.

With the recent aerial assessment of the Flanders Fire burning 1,712 acres, it is now among the 10 largest fires in recent years in Minnesota. Here's a look at the list of the largest wildfires in the last 20 years and where the Flanders Fire ranks among them.