Local, state and federal firefighting crews continued battling a wildfire northeast of Duluth on Monday, amid concerns that another day of gusty winds and extremely dry conditions could fuel further spread of the flames.
Meanwhile, crews were responding Monday to a new, large wildfire in the Superior National Forest, only about 10 miles away from the first.
The first, and largest of the two fires — the Camp House Fire near Brimson, about 35 miles north-northeast of Duluth — started Sunday and ballooned to 750 acres at last report Monday morning. It was zero-percent contained as crews worked on the ground and from the air to douse the flames.
The fire prompted officials to evacuate several dozen residents on Sunday; those evacuation orders remained in effect on Monday. St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay told MPR News that the fire burned at least three homes or cabins, along with a garage and other outbuildings.
That part of the county has few roads and a number of remote cabins, camps and homesteads. Ramsay said the damage was still being assessed Monday morning.
There were no reports of injuries.
Ramsay said there were reports the fire may have started from a campfire. He said the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources was working to confirm that and further investigate how the fire started.
Wildland firefighters from the DNR and the U.S. Forest Service are working with crews from local fire departments. Ramsay said the firefighting effort included several planes and helicopters dropping water on the flames.
“They had them staged in the northern part of the state in anticipation” of dangerous fire conditions on Sunday, Ramsay said Monday. “They were really key on keeping this thing from getting worse yesterday, and likely saved some structures.”
Ramsay also noted how some property owners had taken steps to reduce the risk of fire at their homes and cabins, such as clearing vegetation from around the structures.
“In one case in particular, a cabin owner had done significant work to prevent a wildfire taking his cabin, and you could clearly see that his efforts paid off,” he said. “It was very clear those places that burned were pretty close to the wood line and had longer grass or brush that obviously impacted what occurred.”
Brenda Schnurrer is a supervisor with Ault Township, which includes the Brimson area. She was at the at the town hall building until about 11:30 p.m. Sunday helping people who were evacuated due to the fire. Schnurrer told MPR News that they helped about eight people find lodging for the night at nearby motels or at other residents’ homes nearby.
Red flag warnings remained in effect Monday for most of Minnesota as well as the eastern Dakotas and northwest Wisconsin. The Minnesota DNR warned of “extreme” fire danger across the region.
That danger was due to dry vegetation, gusty south winds and low relative humidity — making it easier for fires to start and spread quickly.
Ramsay said the Camp House Fire was expected to progress northeast from St. Louis County into Lake County on Monday — with a few homes as well as cabins and hunting shacks in its potential path. He said authorities met Monday morning to discuss the weather and firefighting plan, and try to anticipate what the fire might do.
“Primary focus is to ensure everybody’s safety, and then doing what can be done to save any property,” he said.
The Superior National Forest confirmed Monday afternoon that air and ground crews were responding to a second large wildfire, about 10 miles northwest of the Camp House Fire.
The Jenkins Creek Fire was on national forest land near County Highway 16 — a main route for people traveling between the North Shore and the Iron Range. It was located east of the junction with County Highway 110 to Hoyt Lakes.
The U.S. Forest Service said the fire quickly grew to several hundred acres in size amid the dry, windy conditions. Officials said they’re evacuating and closing the Cadotte Lake Campground — a few miles due east of the fire — as a precaution, given the time it takes to notify and move campers.
“The public is asked to stay out of the area for safety reasons to allow for firefighting resources to suppress the fire,” Superior National Forest officials said in a statement on social media.