Spruce budworm damage fuels wildfire risk, spurs forestry action

Local forest managers are bracing for increased forest health impacts and wildfire risk in coming years, due to an intense and ongoing spruce budworm outbreak.

This small caterpillar has caused mass spruce and fir defoliation across Northern Minnesota, with 1.3 million acres affected between 2020 and 2024 — a number which ballooned by 712,000 acres in 2024 alone. Many trees never recover.

“It got all the way east to Lake and Cook County,” said Tower Area Forest Supervisor Brian Feldt, “Now it’s coming back. It’s like the wave of it crashed upon Lake Superior. Now it’s reverberating back across the landscape.”