Red Lake County, Minnesota · Red Lake Falls
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Red Lake Falls, Oklee and Plummer. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Red Lake County averages 115 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 40% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Red Lake County, part of 3.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
40% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Red Lake County, 2.18 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
46% of occupied homes in Red Lake County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Minnesota county median of 30%.
With 4 muggy nights a year, mold in Red Lake County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 3,915 people live in Red Lake County, 432 square miles in northwest Minnesota, in roughly 1,878 homes. Red Lake Falls is the county seat; Oklee, Plummer and Brooks are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1969.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Red Lake County ranks 37 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Red Lake County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Red Lake is on the colder side of Minnesota for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 115 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 180 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 7th of 87 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 63 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2019. The coldest night reached about -38°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in December, inside a season that runs November to April. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 5 and the last spring freeze around May 10.
Red Lake gets fewer downpours than most Minnesota counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.3 days a year bring an inch or more (73rd of 87), most often in July, out of 21.6 inches of total precipitation. On September 21, 2019, 2.18 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.46 inches (through June 9, 2020).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 82 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Minnesota's 87 counties range widely in housing age; Red Lake ranks 27th, with 69% of its homes built before 1980.
In Red Lake County 40% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 4 times a year here, below the Minnesota county median of 13. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Red Lake County it's 11% utility gas, 29% electric, 39% propane and 7% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Minnesota norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Red Lake County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pennington gets more pipe-freeze nights than Red Lake. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Red Lake | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 40% | 34% | 33 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 69% | 58% | 27 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 21% | 54 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.4% | 3.8% | 14 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 11% | 43 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 46% | 30% | 12 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 115/yr | 89/yr | 7 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.3/yr | 5.3/yr | 73 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 86/yr | 71 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 4/yr | 13/yr | 71 of 87 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Minnesota county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Red Lake County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, July and August.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology