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 lightning. 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.

“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.”