Authorities confirm gas line explosion in Willow River, multiple addresses evacuated

The Pine County Sheriff’s Office confirms there has been an explosion in Willow River. They are asking the public to avoid the areas northwest of Willow River. The report of an explosion in a rural area of west Willow River came in around 1:43 p.m.

“Several fire departments, EMS, and law enforcement were dispatched and determined it was a larger gas line that was involved,” explained a release from the Pine County Sheriff’s Office. “Multiple addresses in proximity to the explosion were asked to evacuate.”

The Sheriff’s Office further stated that nothing criminal is suspected and that no injuries have been reported. Northern Natural Gas and authorities are on the scene.

“There’s no reason to think there’s any more risk to people using their gas or anything like that,” said Pine County Sheriff Jeff Nelson. “They’re going to work on making sure that the customers in the affected area will have gas.”

Northern Natural Gas provided WDIO with the following statement:

“Northern Natural Gas experienced a pipeline incident near Willow River, MN on January 16, 2026.

The site of the incident has been secured, and this section of the pipeline system has been isolated. No injuries occurred and no threat to public safety currently exists.

Northern Natural Gas is coordinating with authorities and is investigating the cause of the incident to safely restore service. We expect to begin repairs to the system later today. “

Video taken by the Carlton County Fire News Facebook page shows two massive flames and plumes of smoke. Carlton County Fire News says it is in the Fox Lake area near Highway 61 and County Road 41, and an explosion was heard at about 1:30 p.m. The Northland FireWire says that flames are visible from I-35.

National Pipeline Mapping System shows a gas transmission pipeline and a hazardous liquid pipeline in the area of Fox Lake. Officials have yet to confirm whether or not the pipelines are involved.

Eyewitnesses say authorities are closing the road and have instructed bystanders to move back.

Minnesota Energy Resources provided the following statement in response to the pipeline disruption:

Minnesota Energy Resources is informing customers in and around Willow River and Sturgeon Lake about a natural gas outage impacting about 500 customers.

The transmission pipeline that serves the Minnesota Energy Resources system in that area was damaged. Natural gas is no longer being fed into Minnesota Energy Resources pipeline, leaving customers without natural gas service.

Minnesota Energy Resources is working closely with the transmission pipeline operator to ensure service is restored as quickly and safely as possible. Minnesota Energy Resources is bringing in crews from across the state and extra contractors to help with the restoration effort.

Due to the type of damage, service may not be fully restored for several days. Minnesota Energy Resources will update customers about the progress of repairs as soon as additional information is available.