(ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MN) — Three major wildfires raging out of control in the same Minnesota county have burned more than 20,000 acres combined, destroying dozens of structures, triggering evacuations and prompting the governor to call in the state National Guard to help battle the flames.
The largest fire in St. Louis County — the Camp House Fire — exploded overnight to nearly 12,000 acres and was 0% contained on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
“The responders are doing everything they can, working long hours under extremely tough conditions,” Cmdr. Ryan Williams of the Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) said at a news conference.
The Camp House Fire, which started on Sunday in the Superior National Forest near Brimson, about 35 miles north of county seat Duluth, grew overnight from roughly 1,200 acres to 11,788 acres by Tuesday afternoon, according to Williams.
He said that up to 150 structures, including seasonal cabins, remain under mandatory evacuation orders.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said in a video statement that more than 40 structures, including homes and cabins, have been destroyed by the Camp House Fire.
Fueled by wind gusts, relative low humidity, warm temperatures, dry underbrush and a build-up of dead trees killed by an insect infestation, the Camp House Fire has quickly spread through the area, according to officials.
“When the fire torches through tree canopies, it throws embers into the air like confetti,” Williams said.
Two other wild fires burning in St. Louis County were the Jenkins Creek Fire — which started on Monday afternoon and had spread to 6,800 acres as of Tuesday afternoon — and the Munger Saw Fire, which also started Monday afternoon and had grown to 1,400 acres as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the MNICS. Both fires were also 0% contained, officials said.
No injuries have been reported from any of the fires, officials noted.
As of Tuesday morning, wildfires had scorched over 37,000 acres — far above the state’s typical yearly total of about 12,000 acres.
“We are seeing the effects of climate change,” Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said at Tuesday’s news conference. “It’s harder to compare current fire seasons to what used to be normal. We are trending toward hotter, drier weather — and that’s changing everything.”
On Monday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in state National Guard troops to help firefighters gain control of the three fires.
“Last night, many of our firefighters were out there with no sleep in extremely dangerous conditions,” Walz said in a statement. “We’ve already seen 970 wildfires this year — 40 on Sunday and another 40 on Monday. These are record-setting numbers, and the fires are burning fast.”
The blazes ignited amid red flag fire danger warnings issued by the National Weather Service for nearly the entire state of Minnesota.
Making matters worse for firefighters were high temperatures forecast for most of Minnesota this week. On Monday and Tuesday, temperatures in the Duluth area reached the 80s.
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