Walz Declares Peacetime Emergency to Direct Resources to NE MN Wildfires

Map credit: InciWeb

Gov. Tim Walz today declared a peacetime emergency and directed state agencies to provide the assistance necessary to help respond to and recover from the wildfires that have caused significant destruction to property and critical infrastructure in northeast Minnesota.

On Monday, St. Louis County officials declared a state of local emergency and requested public disaster assistance.

Walz’s order will further support wildland firefighters and emergency responders, and it comes as the Jenkins Creek, Camp House, and Munger Shaw wildfires remain active. A press release from the governor’s office says that as fire departments, law enforcement, and state and federal wildland firefighting agencies work together to respond to these fires, additional resources will be needed to address the ongoing threats from these wildfires.

Overall, more than 30,000 acres have been burned in three major fries, and 150 buildings have been destroyed.

Despite strong winds and low humidity in the area today, firefighters did make some progress in battling the fires. As of Tuesday evening, the Munger Shaw fire is now 95% contained and the Camp House fire is 59% contained, but the Jenkins Creek fire is only 6% contained.