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"Do not burn" edict goes out for northern Minnesota

National Weather Service issues "red flag" warning for extremely dry conditions.

By Rochelle Olson

May 15, 2018 at 9:54PM

Large tract of trees and soil are burned in the Pagami Lake fire near Forest Center, Minn. Thursday Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011. A forest fire that smoldered for nearly a month on the Minnesota-Canada border before exploding this week to cover nearly 160 square miles is laying bare old disagreements over the best way to manage wildfire. The Pagami Creek fire started small on Aug. 18 with a lightning strike in the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. (AP Photo/The Duluth News-Tribune, Bob King) ORG XMIT: MIN2013091015591992 (Colleen Kelly — ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Most of northern Minnesota went under a "do not burn" warning Tuesday because of extremely dry conditions that could quickly spark a wildfire.

The National Weather Service issued a "red flag warning" until 8 p.m., saying conditions are "ideal for wildfire, including dry vegetation and gusty winds."

The warning means that no fires should be started and any recent burning should be inspected to make sure the fire is fully out. "Any spark could become a wildfire under red flag conditions," according to a Department of Natural Resources news release.

Under the weather service warning are the counties of Polk, Kittson, Roseau, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Beltrami, Pennington, Red Lake, Polk, Clearwater and Koochiching.

Conditions can be monitored at mndnr.gov/burnrestrictions and on Twitter: @mnforestry.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747 Twitter: @rochelleolson