BEMIDJI — While it may be difficult to determine when spring will actually begin in Northern Minnesota, it is allegedly on its way, and with it, comes spring wildfire danger.
The major windstorm in the Bemidji area on June 21, 2025, resulted in 9 million damaged or downed trees. Property owners around the region have contended with brush piles for months, with spring typically becoming a time to burn them.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources began requiring burning permits in most of the state on March 5, and Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood is encouraging people to burn their brush sooner rather than later, while there is still snow on the ground.
“People are burning them, but we're actually surprised that they're not burning as many as we thought. We're starting to hear people saying, ‘Oh, I'm waiting for the snow to melt and then I will burn them,’” he said in a Friday, March 13, interview at Bemidji Fire Station No. 1. “But that concerns us, because that leads us into our wildfire season.”
Planning for this spring’s wildfire season has been months in the making since the storm event, not only for the Bemidji Fire Department but also with state and federal agencies.
Bemidji Fire Department and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have mapped and modeled the region to identify areas of concern, Sherwood said, with more firefighting from the skies expected this spring.
Staffing challenges and budget constraints impact firefighting at local, state and federal levels, and according to Sherwood, wildfire risk mitigation is far less costly than responding to a major wildfire.
“While some of these staffing things are concerning, I do think that we're able to mitigate or reduce that threat a little bit by inviting everyone to the party, including our air resources, initially being aggressive,” Sherwood said.
Nearby, the Chippewa National Forest had 4,800 acres impacted in the storm, according to a prepared March 12 statement from the U.S. Forest Service. Its management strategy includes commercial timber harvesting on what is salvageable, as well as prescribed burns.
“The event considerably changed the wildland fire landscape across the Blackduck Ranger District of the Chippewa National Forest, creating significant challenges for fire management,” stated a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson.
Last year’s efforts to shrink the federal government resulted in several layoffs at the Chippewa National Forest, but the agency stated its “firefighters and support staff are prepared to respond to every wildfire quickly to reduce risk to people, homes, infrastructure and natural and cultural resources.”
The blowdown from last summer’s storm isn’t the only fuel in area forests, Sherwood said.
"We still are thinking about the 2012 windstorm because there were a lot of areas that [foresters and firefighters] were not able to get into,” he said. “We have that fuel on the ground that is rotting, and then we have the new stuff here that is on top of it, and that debris has dried out extremely fast.”
Sherwood said wildfire mitigation, or reducing the risk of wildfire, is key.
"It's removing the debris that's on the ground, especially close to residential structures," he said. "It's hardening your home, making sure your roof and gutters are clean, making sure you have green space between your house and the forest, and providing maybe sprinklers or evacuation plans."
Even new siding or shingles on houses in wooded areas could qualify as wildfire risk mitigation, such as replacing wood materials with steel. As most wildfires are human-caused, education is also a major factor in reducing the risk of wildfires.
The Bemidji Fire Department recently received a grant from the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Wildfire Mentorship program, which will bring in resources from state and federal partners for wildfire mitigation.
“The hope is to give us a plan — not only for this spring, but for the years to come, because this is going to be a concern for us — that will help the Bemidji area mitigate those wildfire risks in and around what we call the wildland urban interface,“ Sherwood said.
The DNR recommends Minnesotans to compost, chip or haul brush rather than burning it. Lingering heat from campfires, burn piles and ash removed from woodstoves or heaters can result in insulated embers, which could quickly turn into a wildfire on a dry, windy day.
Burns should always be closely monitored and fully extinguished.
Large plumes of white smoke seen and smelled around the region at this time of the year are likely from brush pile burns, and Sherwood said it is not necessary to report them to dispatch. Plumes of black smoke could be indicative of a house or car fire and should be reported.
-
Contributed/John Muhlenpoh / MSHSLMountain Iron-Buhl finishes its season with a 30-2 record. Anna Neyens and Paige Norman were named to the all-tournament team, as was Kelliher/Northome’s Kate Thayer. -
Planning and preparation for the 2026 spring wildfire season began shortly after the major blowdown storm in the Bemidji region, which saw an estimated 9 million trees downed or damaged. -
And: A new bill in the Minnesota Legislature would allow small school districts to shrink their school board size.
-
Contributed/Beltrami CountyIn a Thursday, March 12, 2026, order, Judge Jeanine Brand said the attorney general’s office showed sufficient probable cause for the case against Michelle R. Skroch to move forward.
