Early Sunday Duluth fire destroys Woodland Avenue home, no injuries reported

A 601 Woodland Avenue home was left a total loss Sunday morning after fire tore through the porch and into the roof, triggering a multi-station response and forcing Duluth crews into a defensive fight to keep the blaze from worsening. The lower-level tenants got out on their own before conditions deteriorated, no injuries were reported, and the upper level of the duplex-triplex was vacant when the fire broke out.

Firefighters were dispatched just before 7 a.m. to the home near Woodland Avenue and 21st Avenue East after a report of smoke and flames. Crews from Woodland, UMD, Lakeside, Downtown, Duluth Heights and Spirit Valley all responded, a sign of how quickly the incident grew from a routine structure call into a major city fire response. The Duluth Fire Department identified the case as 26005441.

When crews arrived, the fire had already taken hold in the porch area and was pushing through the front roofline. Once the structure became fully engulfed, firefighters shifted to a defensive strategy. Damage was estimated at about $270,000.

The City of Duluth thanked St. Louis County/911 dispatch, the American Red Cross, Mayo Clinic Ambulance, Minnesota Power and the Duluth Police Department for helping with the response. The fire also prompted callbacks so the city could maintain coverage for other emergencies while crews remained on scene.

Traffic in the area was disrupted for several hours, but the intersection reopened later in the morning. The Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause.

The fire adds to a string of notable incidents along the same stretch of Woodland Avenue. In September 2025, another fire in the 600 block displaced six college students and caused about $65,000 in damage, underscoring how disruptive structure fires can be for this corridor and the people living there.