Rain tempers northeast Minnesota fires, burned areas opened to property owners

BRIMSON, Minn. – Property owners on Friday were temporarily allowed back into areas burned by wildfires in northeastern Minnesota, as intermittent rain helped fight the blazes.

The Camp House Fire near Brimson didn’t grow overnight and the Jenkins Creek Fire’s threat to the city of Hoyt Lakes eased, thanks in part to precipitation in the area, said Bob Reif, spokesman for the Eastern Area Complex Incident Team, which is coordinating the firefighting efforts.

Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith toured the burned areas Friday morning and were briefed at the Incident Command Center in Two Harbors. U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber also toured the region on Friday.

At the Two Harbors briefing, fire crews and others cheered at the sound of rain pelting the center’s metal roof.

Walz promised state and federal resources for recovery.

He said the fires were fast-moving, “incredibly destructive” and still burning.

“This is going to be a fight over the coming days and potentially weeks,” Walz said, adding that the state and federal governments were committed to helping.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office had asked property owners affected by the fires to go to one of two checkpoints by 8 p.m. Friday, show proof of ownership and give an estimated time of return, Reif said.

Hugo’s Bar, on Hwy. 44 in Brimson, was the Camp House Fire checkpoint; County Road 16 and Forest Hwy. 11, also known as Superior National Forest Scenic Byway, was the Jenkins Creek Fire checkpoint.

Although the 15,500-acre Jenkins Creek fire expanded to the northwest toward Hoyt Lakes on Thursday, Reif said, rainfall improved conditions and an evacuation order for the city of 2,000 was less likely — at least temporarily.

The 15,000-acre Camp House Fire, about an hour north of Duluth, has destroyed nearly 150 structures and was on pace to become the most property-destructive Minnesota wildfire in modern times.

The Jenkins Creek fire traveled 16 miles in two days, and endangered the small community of Skibo, said Cory Henry, operations section chief for the incident team.

“Mother Nature is the best defense we have,” he said, referring to Thursday night’s off-and-on rain.

Incident commander Brian Jenkins said at the briefing that the fires were typical of Minnesota wildfires, with wind driving them hard through forest fuel before cold and wet weather offered a reprieve.

Randy Freyholtz, chief of the Brimson Area Volunteer Fire Department, said on a tour of the fire’s destruction that the 12-member department is mostly trained in structure fires. Fighting a wildfire in his community “has been a roller coaster,” he said.

As the Camp House Fire encroached on homes of those fighting the fire, “emotions were running a little high, but we maintained our professionalism and continued our duty,” Freyholtz said.

A drive on Hwy. 44, where the Camp House Fire blazed, showed scorched earth, buildings reduced to rubble and charred vehicles. On some properties, homes were intact and a green lawn shared a border with a blackened landscape.

About 250 personnel are fighting the wildfires, collectively called the Brimson Complex. Resources have been readily available because of fewer wildland fires in the western half of the country, Henry said.

Meanwhile, the 1,600-acre Munger Shaw Fire, southeast of Cotton, was 25% contained, fire officials said. Residents there were allowed to return. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office rescinded the evacuation and road closings ordered after the fire began Monday.

The National Weather Service said showers will continue in parts of northeast Minnesota through the afternoon, and could redevelop between 7 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service lifted the red-flag warning for Minnesota, but any burning still was discouraged.

The causes of the fires remained under investigation.

Smith and Klobuchar promised to seek more support for the region, lauding efforts from local to national.

Northeastern Minnesota land is full of wetlands and often inaccessible, Smith said.

“It reminds us that it is complicated by fires in terrain like this,” she said, and coordinating resources for such a region isn’t easy.

United Way chapters in northern Minnesota organized relief funds for fire victims. The chapters said they are partnering with the American Red Cross, county and local officials and other nonprofits in the region.

The United Way of Northeastern Minnesota has set up a donation page online in St. Louis County. Donations, with a note that they are for wildfire relief, also can be mailed to the organization at 608 East Dr., Chisholm, MN, 55719.

The Head of the Lakes United Way has a donation page online to help victims in Lake County. Donations also can be mailed to the organization at 314 W. Superior St., #750, Duluth, MN, 55802. Include a note to direct the donation to wildfire relief.

St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said those who lost homes and other property will need help with cleanup long after the fires are contained.