North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declared a statewide fire emergency as wildfires killed one person and triggered numerous evacuations.
The state’s forest service is fighting multiple fires mainly in the western half of the state, according to the National Interagency Fire Center‘s infrared map. Those fires include:
- The Bear Den Fire, which started Saturday morning, has burned an estimated 10,000 acres near the Fort Berthold Reservation as of Sunday afternoon.
- The Elkhorn Fire, which started Saturday evening, has burned an estimated 10,000 acres south of Watford City.
- The Sprint Creek Fire, which started Saturday afternoon, has burned an estimated 5,000 acres south of Watford City.
NIFC’s map indicated numerous other hotspots throughout the state Sunday afternoon, but these have not yet been named or confirmed as active wildfires.
“Several large wildfires were being fought in western North Dakota this evening including near Grassy Butte, near Johnson’s corner along Highway 73 and near Mandaree,” Burgum said late Saturday night. “Evacuation orders were issued in multiple areas and temporary shelters were opened for those displaced.”
The Williams County Sheriff’s Office reported 26-year-old Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden of South Africa died of fire-related injuries in the Ray area, according to the Bismarck Tribune. The local paper said South Africans often come to the state to work as farmhands. Another unidentified individual was taken to a local medical facility with critical injuries.
The National Weather Service’s Bismarck Office issued a Red Flag Warning, High Wind Warning, and Wind Advisory for much of the state Saturday, when the state’s biggest fires started. Fire conditions were worsened by Extreme to Moderate Drought intensity in the state’s western half, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Critical fire conditions have since subsided.
“Widespread high winds impacted the region yesterday with multiple sites seeing wind gusts above 75 mph. Luckily winds will remain light through this week,” the office tweeted Sunday.
The North Dakota Forest Service previously deployed multiple engines and crews to the fires, along with two North Dakota National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and more than two dozen National Guard firefighters, Burgum said. Two heavy air tankers from Montana also dumped fire retardant while bulldozers and motor graders cut fire lines near the community of Mandaree.
The pause in fire-spreading weather will help firefighters get a foothold on the wildfires, according to USFS Dakota Prairie Grasslands.
“On the east side of the fire, near the Little Missouri River, the North Dakota National Guard is utilizing a helicopter to perform water drops to help contain the fire,” forest service officials said Sunday. “Local, state, and federal resources are working together performing suppression activities around the perimeter of the fire. Additionally, two hand crews are en route to the incident.”