BRIMSON, Minn. 鈥� Gov. Tim Walz signed off Monday on the Minnesota National Guard helping fight the growing Camp House Fire in St. Louis County.
"Wildfires in northern Minnesota have forced families to evacuate and caused severe damage to and loss of property," Walz said in a news release Monday afternoon, May 12. "My thoughts are with those Minnesotans who are being impacted by this dangerous and unpredictable fire."
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The National Guard will provide personnel, assistance and resources alongside the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Interagency Fire Center and local agencies.
Low humidity and high winds caused a wildfire burning near Brimson to jump in size Monday. Meanwhile, a new, separate wildfire spread a few miles to the northeast.
The Camp House Fire, which ignited Sunday afternoon, grew to 1,250 acres by mid-morning Monday, up from 750 acres the evening before, Superior National Forest spokesperson Christine Kolinski said.
An estimated three cabins were destroyed and over 50 residences evacuated in the Camp House Fire, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office reported Monday afternoon.
Separately, the Jenkins Creek Fire ignited late Monday morning, about 9 miles northeast of the Camp Fire near Fairbanks and County Highway 16. It grew quickly to 800 acres by late afternoon, Kolinski said.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said on Facebook that the Jenkins Fire had 鈥渆ngulfed鈥� one structure.
The Jenkins Fire also prompted the U.S. Forest Service to evacuate and close its Cadotte Lake Campground.
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The cause of each fire is under investigation.
The Camp House Fire appeared to still be growing Monday afternoon. The fire jumped to the west side of County Highway 44, forcing Mikala Schliep and her family to evacuate down their long driveway as fire burned on each side of the truck, leaving some components singed.
Other family members piled into other vehicles, so Schliep had to wait at the end of the driveway until they, too, could drive through the flames.
鈥淭hat was the longest five minutes of my life,鈥� she said.
Schliep was not sure if her home survived.
Several dozen residents were Sunday evening. Displaced residents should plan to remain evacuated Monday night, the sheriff鈥檚 office said in the news release. The northern evacuation line is Little Creek Road; the eastern line is County Road 151; the southern line is Camp House Road; and the western line is County Highway 44.
Jeff Conklin, who lives on Elo Road, was on a side-by-side ride with friends Sunday when he started to hear about the fire. When he got closer to home, he found his road was closed. But his dogs, Queeny, an 11-year-old Presa Canario, and Thor, a 10-year-old Presa Canario and Lab mix, were back at the house.
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He was allowed to quickly retrieve the dogs and get out, but said he would have gone in if they had tried to stop him.
鈥淭hey (Queen and Thor) are old,鈥� Conklin said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 deserve to die of smoke inhalation.鈥�
Conklin, who uses a wheelchair, spent the night in his vehicle parked outside Hugo鈥檚 Bar in Brimson, which is serving as a staging area for first responders and an unofficial gathering place for evacuees.
So far, he thinks the fire spared his home.
Greg Ruberg, of Two Harbors, who was sitting at the bar snacking on popcorn just before noon Monday, said he just got back from checking on his cabin near George Lake.
While the fire burned around the property, his cabin and four other structures were unharmed.
鈥淲e had a really large fire perimeter because of all the dead balsam, so we worked on it for the last year and half, cleaning up every dead tree, all the brush,鈥� Ruberg said. 鈥淎nd it burned exactly around the perimeter of our yard.鈥�
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At least two of his neighbors, however, were among those who lost their cabins.
In addition to reducing fuels, Ruberg also credited the work of aerial crews dropping water on and around his property and first responders who went in and checked on his property and let him know it was safe.
鈥淭hey were doing everything they could to save it,鈥� Ruberg said.
As of Monday morning, the wildfire was burning in mixed-forest vegetation, including a 鈥渓arge quantity鈥� of spruce budworm-infested forest stands, the Minnesota Incident Command Team C reported in a news release.
Robbie Krofoot, who has a cabin on Elo Road, said he evacuated yesterday but returned in the evening to water down the ditch and around his property. He鈥檚 glad he did, as the fire ended up jumping the road. As of early Monday afternoon, he said his cabin was safe.
鈥淚鈥檝e been here 30-some years. I鈥檝e seen fires up here, but I鈥檝e never had to evacuate,鈥� Krofoot said as he sat at the bar at Hugo鈥檚. 鈥淭his is the biggest one in Brimson in a long time.鈥�
The public is asked to avoid the area. No drones are allowed.
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鈥淚f drones are detected near the fire, all air operations supporting the fire will stop,鈥� Minnesota Incident Command said in the news release.
County Highway 44 between Indian Creek Road and Brimson Road, north of Hugo鈥檚 Bar, was closed to all traffic as of 11 a.m. Monday. Highway 44 north of Rollins Road and Hugo鈥檚 also closed Monday afternoon.
Firefighting aircraft, personnel from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Superior National Forest, and mutual aid from St. Louis County and Lake County fire departments responded.
The 鈥渞apidly spreading grass/wildfire鈥� was first reported at 1:15 p.m. Sunday on the 2200 block of Highway 44 in Ault Township, near the Lake County border.
The National Weather Service issued a for Monday for 64 counties due to the near-critical fire weather. The NWS forecast a high temperature Monday of 85 degrees, with wind gusts up to 25 mph. The forecast Tuesday calls for wind gusts up to 20 mph and a high temperature of 85 degrees.
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