Side Lake, Minnesota
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1976. It stands in French Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55781. The Survey maps it on the Side Lake quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 10 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.
- 1954 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Side Lake quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1976 USGS Bigfork quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
72 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 72 fires within 5 miles of Side Lake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 38 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 16 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 | 21 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 16 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 September 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 August 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 August 1997 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 August 2018 | Natural | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 August 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Storms near this place
16 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Side Lake in 16 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 11 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | $10,000 | Photos were received of damage to trees and docks around Side Lake. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | $2,000 | A few trees were blown down, and severe wind gusts bent pine trees to the ground. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | A few 1 inch diameter tree limbs were reported down. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Side Lake | - | A video was received showing 3 to 6 inches of water quickly flowing down County Road 766 near the Sturgeon River crossing. The water was covering the entire road. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | Several trees were down with several onto power lines. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | Four trees were blown over. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | Multiple trees were snapped at the spotter's location. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | Some structural damage was reported due to large pine trees snapping and hitting buildings. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Side Lake | - | St. Louis County Highway 65 was washed out between the Sturgeon River Crossing and Luna Lake. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | A tree was blown down near the intersection of Green Rock Road and Belchner Road. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | Three trees blown down blocking Highway 5 and Perch Lake Road. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office reported that winds up to 60 mph caused damage in French Township around Side Lake, with downed trees and power lines. |
| July 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Side Lake | - | The tornado touched down in a very rural, wooded area. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Side Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Hail | Side Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Side Lake | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear River | 8.5 miles | 8 | |
| Sturgeon | 10.9 miles | 10 | |
| Lavinia | 13.8 miles | 14 | |
| Meadow Brook | 14.0 miles | 9 | |
| Chisholm | 14.0 miles | 14 | |
| Celina | 14.1 miles | 8 | |
| Mahoning | 15.1 miles | 14 | |
| Linden Grove | 15.7 miles | 10 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 662444. 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.
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.





