NE Minnesota wildfire could threaten homes as winds shift
FINLAND, Minn. (AP) - U.S. Forest Service officials have warned home and cabin owners who fled a wildfire in northeastern Minnesota that the winds could shift this weekend, putting their properties in danger.
Dozens of people got the warning at a public meeting Thursday evening in the small town of Finland, where officials gave them the latest about the Greenwood Lake fire and their strategy for trying to stop it, Minnesota Public Radio reported Friday.
The fire has grown to 7.4 square miles (19 square kilometers) since it was first spotted Sunday. The Forest Service says it was caused by lightening. Around 200 firefighters are now working on the blaze, coming from as far away as Mississippi and Colorado. So far it has burned mostly north and west into the forest, and no structures have burned. Around 90 residents have evacuated their homes.
But the concern now is a cold front expected to move through the region on Saturday, something that incident commander Brian Pisarek said was keeping him up at night. He told the crowd that the front is expected to bring strong winds from the northwest, which could push the fire aggressively to the east, toward homes.
"The big unknown is this system coming through, is it going to be wet? If it comes through wet, and we get three-quarters of an inch of rain on it, and that happens before the wind, we´re golden," he said.
But if the winds pick up and it doesn´t rain, Pisarek said, the fire could get out of control quickly.
Planes circle the Greenwood Fire as they scoop water from Sand Lake and drop it on the wildfire as it moves northeast on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Duluth, Minn. The wildfire has continued to grow and spread towards the northeast as firefighters battle the flames from both the ground and air. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
"I don´t want to give illusions that this is going to be a good weekend for us," he said. "It´s going to be tough."
Drought conditions in western states, which extend as far east as Minnesota, are fueling around 100 wildfires. California has already surpassed the acreage burned at this point last year, which ended up setting the record. In northeastern Minnesota, heat, low humidity and a tinder-dry forest have fueled the Greenwood Lake fire, which is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of the small town of Isabella.
"It´s the summer from hell, for watching the forest get compromised," said Doug Lande, who lives on a farm in the area. On Wednesday, a shift in the winds pushed the fire directly toward his property.
Lande, a former firefighter, said aircraft likely saved his house by dumping water and fire retardant all around it.
"They slurried the house with retardant and about 20 acres around the farmstead. That lasts only so long. Now, I´m wondering when the next run of the fire will be at the house."
A helicopter drops fire retardant on a portion of the Greenwood Fire near Highway 2 as it moves northeast on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Duluth, Minn. The wildfire has continued to grow and spread towards the northeast as firefighters battle the flames from both the ground and air. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
Smoke rises above the Superior National Forest as the Greenwood Fire burns through towards Highway 2 on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Duluth, Minn. The wildfire has continued to grow and spread towards the northeast as firefighters battle the flames from both the ground and air. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
Smoke rises above the Superior National Forest as the Greenwood Fire burns through towards Highway 2 towards the northeast on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Duluth, Minn. The wildfire has continued to grow and spread towards the northeast as firefighters battle the flames from both the ground and air. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)
An aircraft drops red fire retardant onto the Greenwood Fire, about 50 miles north of Duluth, Minn., Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, as seen from an airplane above the temporary flight restriction zone. (Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP)
An Aircraft drops water scooped from nearby Sand Lake onto the Greenwood Fire , about 50 miles north of Duluth, Minn., Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, as seen from an airplane above the temporary flight restriction zone. (Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP)
Aircrafts scoop up water from Sand Lake to drop onto the nearby Greenwood Fire, about 50 miles north of Duluth, Minn., Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, as seen from an airplane above the temporary flight restriction zone. (Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP)
An Aircraft drops water scooped from nearby Sand Lake onto the Greenwood Fire , about 50 miles north of Duluth, Minn., Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, as seen from an airplane above the temporary flight restriction zone. (Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP)
The Greenwood Fire, about 50 miles north of Duluth, Minn., continues to burn, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, as seen from an airplane above the temporary flight restriction zone. (Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP)
The Greenwood Fire, about 50 miles north of Duluth, Minn., continues to burn, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, as seen from an airplane above the temporary flight restriction zone. (Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP)
This Aug. 15, 2021, photo provided by U.S. Forest Service-Superior National Forest shows a rapidly growing wildfire in northeastern Minnesota that has prompted some evacuations, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. The fire was spotted around 3 p.m. Sunday near Greenwood Lake, about 15 miles southwest of Isabella, in the Superior National Forest. (Nick Petrack/Forest Service-Superior National Forest via AP)
