Dorset, Minnesota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1976. It stands in Henrietta Township. It lies in ZIP code area 56470. The Survey maps it on the Dorset quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1953 USGS Brainerd quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Brainerd quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Brainerd quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Brainerd quadrangle1:250000
- 1970 USGS Dorset quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Pine River quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
105 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 105 fires within 5 miles of Dorset between 1992 and 2020, burning about 275 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 21 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 51 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 21 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 9 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 August 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 August 2013 | Fireworks | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 July 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 July 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 July 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 June 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 June 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Dorset: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumbers Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Park Region Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
29 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dorset in 29 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 14 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2014 | Lightning | Dorset | $300,000 | Lightning ignited a fire that destroyed one restaurant and badly damaged a second neighboring restaurant. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Dorset | $100,000 | This tornado resulted from a storm split near Big Sand Lake and tracked to the northeast for nearly 5 miles. It had several brief touchdowns before it lifted about 5 miles east-southeast of Emmaville and east of Mantrap Lake by 951 am CDT. No significant damage was reported or detected by aerial survey, though some tree branch damage was noted. Estimated maximum width was 75 yards with peak winds estimated to 80 mph. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | Reports of damage around Potato Lake with docks and boats missing. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | Several aspen trees blown over. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | Numerous trees down in the Hubbard county area from the wind. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Dorset | - | Hail up to quarter-sized and 40 to 50 MPH winds estimated at Big Timber Lodge. Time estimated via radar. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | Large poplar and pine trees snapped or uprooted across Lake Emma and Clay Townships. Time estimated based on radar. |
| August 2020 | Hail | Dorset | - | Dime to quarter sized hail fell around Little Sand Lake. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | A few trees were blown down around Big Sand Lake. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | Numerous trees were blown down across southern Emma Township, from Potato to Big Sand Lake. |
| August 2020 | Tornado (EF1) | Dorset | - | This tornado was wrapped in heavy rain and downburst winds. It crossed portions of Shallow Lake, the north end of Lake Belle Taine, and the south end of Eighth Crow Wing Lake, where it snapped or uprooted numerous trees. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | A few trees were blown down. |
| September 2017 | Hail | Dorset | - | The hail fell at the Vegabond village campground. |
| September 2017 | Hail | Dorset | - | The hail fell at Big Stony Lake. |
| September 2017 | Hail | Dorset | - | The hail fell at Fifth Crow Wing Lake. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | A poplar tree was blown down and vehicles were dented by hail between Emmaville and Nevis. |
| July 2010 | Hail | Dorset | - | Hail fell for 10 minutes at Camp Wilderness. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF3) | Dorset | - | This tornado tracked for about 7 miles from the southwest edge of Big Sand Lake, across Pickerel Lake, to 1 mile northwest of Emmaville by 947 am CDT. Maximum width was around 400 yards with peak winds to 160 mph. The tornado completely destroyed two homes and damaged several others on Pickerel Lake. It flattened dozens of acres of forest. |
| September 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | A southwest to northeast swath of pine trees was blown down. |
| August 2020 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| September 2017 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Funnel Cloud | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Dorset | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Dorset | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Estates | 3.5 miles | 10 | |
| Deer Lane | 5.9 miles | 9 | |
| Nevis | 6.0 miles | 9 | |
| Park Rapids | 6.1 miles | 10 | |
| Emmaville | 7.7 miles | 9 | |
| Hubbard | 8.8 miles | 10 | |
| Badoura | 11.8 miles | 8 | |
| Akeley | 12.4 miles | 9 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 642900. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





