A small bug could be fueling the northern Minnesota wildfires, officials say
As wildfires in northern Minnesota continue to spread, the Department of Natural Resources says an insect may be helping to fuel the flames.
The region has been experiencing a spruce budworm outbreak, DNR officials say. The native bugs are about an inch long, but they can gather in the thousands to feed primarily on balsam firs.
They can kill a tree in two to three years and turn it into kindling.
"That potentially could be happening here in this area right now, where there has been a lot of budworm activity for the past 10 years or so, maybe contributing to an increase in wildfire," said Eric Otto, a forest health specialist with the Department of Natural Resources.
Spruce budworms have caused visible deforestation in northern Minnesota since 1954. In 2023, the spruce budworm outbreak in northern Minnesota impacted roughly 665,000 acres, DNR officials say.
The region is fire-dependent, but the area hasn't seen as many fires in recent years, limiting the growth of white and red pine. That's caused the spread of balsam firs in the region, Otto said.
The best way to manage the spruce budworm outbreak is to clear out sites that have had a lot of budworm-killed trees and incorporate different types of trees into the landscape to make it more resilient.
While spruce budworm may be contributing to the spread in wildfires, Otto says the primary reason is hot, dry weather.
As of Thursday morning, three fires in St. Louis County have burned a combined 37,000 acres, and there is zero containment. Roughly 1,000 homes have been evacuated.
