DETROIT LAKES — A Red Flag Warning was issued today for most of Minnesota due to extreme fire danger.

Effective 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. for northwest Minnesota, affected counties include Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Grant, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake Of The Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Reed. , Wadena and Wilkin.

Effective 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for central and southern Minnesota. Affected counties include Anoka, Benton, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Chippewa, Chisago, Cottonwood, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Isanti, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lake. Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Pipestone, Pope, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley , Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Winona, Wright and Yellow Medicine.

Effective from noon to 7 p.m. for northeastern Minnesota. Affected counties include Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Koochiching, Pine and St. Louis.

A red flag warning means fires can spread quickly and easily become out of control under expected weather conditions, including gusty winds and low relative humidity. Do not burn in counties where a red flag warning is in effect and check any recent fires to ensure the fire is completely extinguished. The DNR will not issue or activate open burning permits for the burning of large plant debris during the Red Flag Warning, and campfires are discouraged.

Additionally, a special weather statement was issued for Cook and Lake counties in northeastern Minnesota, where wind and relative humidity are expected to produce near-critical fire weather conditions. Outdoor burning is not recommended.

“When the risk of fire is this high, it’s important to be careful with anything that could start a wildfire,” said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.

Red flag warnings are evolving situations. Visit the National Weather Service (weather.gov) for updates.

For more information and daily updates on current fire hazards and open burning restrictions, visit the Statewide Fire Hazards and Burning Restrictions page State DNR website ( mndnr.gov/burnrestrictions ).