Minnesotans brace for the worst as they check on their homes in the path of the wildfires

Six days after major wildfires ignited in the forests north of Duluth, the blazes continue to burn, but the scores of people who have been displaced and anxiously waiting to be allowed to return to their homes — or what is left of them, finally got that chance Friday. 

The two largest fires — the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires — remain uncontained, but fire officials say they are making progress controlling them. Their efforts have been aided by higher humidity and lower temperatures, which have helped keep the fires in check. 

Those two fires remain uncontained, but officials say they are making progress controlling them. Their efforts have been aided by higher humidity and lower temperatures, which have helped keep the fires in check. 

They’ve also been helped by reinforcements, including five, elite 20-member hotshot crews from Colorado, Montana and Tennessee. There are now more than 200 firefighters on scene, including many volunteer crews from across northern Minnesota. 

“We’re getting those resources plugged into the lines, and they are really making some good headway, especially with the weather modifications that we’ve seen the last couple days,” said incident manager Brian Jenkins, who’s managing the Brimson Complex, which includes the two largest fires burning. 

Several federal officials visited the area on Friday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, toured the area with fire officials. St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay escorted Minnesota U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber. 

Stauber said he was buoyed by community support for displaced residents.

“It is amazing, it’s the human spirit within us we’re seeing that right now,” said Stauber. “I mean, when something like this happens, we know in this country, we will come together.”

He pledged that federal funding will be available for people rebuilding from wildfires in northern Minnesota.

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A key message from officials was that a big part of the work is still to come as people work to rebuild their homes and their lives. Walz said everyone is going to have to step up.

“Folks want to know what recovery looks like. Commitment, federal, state, neighbors … but that commitment to help folks rebuild,” he said.

There was some good news late Thursday regarding the third large fire — the Munger Shaw fire northwest of Duluth. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said evacuation orders for that fire have been lifted, and residents are allowed to return home.

And fire officials reported Thursday night that the Munger Shaw fire is now 25 percent contained — meaning crews have established a secure line around 25 percent of the perimeter of the fire, where they’re confident the fire won’t jump. That’s the first time any percentage of containment has been reported for any of the three major fires.

Evacuation orders remain in place for residents near the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires; St. Louis County has posted its wildfire evacuation maps online. Some highways in the area also remain closed.

Camp House Fire near Brimson

• 14,852 acres as of Friday morning

• Zero-percent containment

• About 150 structures destroyed, including homes and cabins

• Evacuation orders remain in place, extending east into Lake County

Jenkins Creek Fire southeast of Hoyt Lakes

• 15,571 acres as of Friday morning

• Zero-percent containment

• At least one structure destroyed

• Evacuation orders remain in place

Munger Shaw / Three Lakes Road Fire east of Canyon

• 1,600 acres as of Friday morning

• 25 percent containment

• Evacuation orders were lifted late Thursday

Longing for home

Some of those who were forced to evacuate the fires are got an opportunity to return to their properties. 

Fire Incident Command authorities announced that property owners could temporarily enter the evacuation zones of Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires until 8 p.m. on Friday.

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Mike Christianson, who’s on the Bassett town board, was forced to flee on Monday. His community, home to about 70 people, is caught between those two large fires — the Camp House fire to the south, and the Jenkins Creek fire to the west.

“Fire in front of us, fire behind us,” he said Thursday.

Christianson is among those anxious to return, as he still doesn’t know the fate of his home on Cadotte Lake. But he knows his sister, Diane Knaffla, lost hers. “Forty years of living there, so sad,” he said. 

Christianson said he first learned of the Camp House fire when he was at church on Sunday; he got word it was approaching his sister’s property.

“That 40 acres that she was on, it’s all that spruce budworm, it’s all that that dead balsam, and — it’s gasoline that goes up so fast,” he said, referring to an insect infestation that has killed hundreds of thousands of trees in the region, providing ready fuel for the fires. “So when that was burning, it was coming at a high rate. She had to rush.”

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The family helped her grab a few things, and they evacuated to Christianson’s home a few miles north. Then as the Camp House fire spread and the Jenkins Creek fire started on Monday — they were were forced to leave there, too. Now Christianson, his wife and his sister are staying in a camper along the Whiteface Reservoir, about 10 miles west of Cadotte Lake.

They’re able to use the campsite free of charge — part of an outpouring of community support that Christianson said is “incredible.” He said he “couldn't be any prouder” of the community and how it’s handled the disaster.

Christianson’s home is protected by water on two sides. But as of Thursday, he still wasn’t convinced it’s standing. 

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“I’m confident — but if not, it’s a box of sticks. We can always rebuild. It’s our families, it’s our loved ones, it’s our community,” he said. “When the evacuation order gets lifted, it’s going to be sadness and it’s also going to be joy for people that, you know, haven’t lost anything. So there’s a lot of mixed emotions going on, but we’ll pull through.”

For now, though — there’s the waiting, and wondering. Cell service at the campground isn’t great, so it can be hard to get updates.

“It’s tough. My wife and I have both stressed out. We play a game called Farkle, just to keep our mind off of things,” Christianson said. He’s also getting in shape for a 10-mile march at the end of the month to support veterans with PTSD — so he’s going on miles-long daily walks. “The bugs are crazy, the heat is crazy — (but) it’s just another thing for me to keep my mind away from the worst.”

On Friday, he finally learned his home was untouched. “Thank God!” he exclaimed.

Hoping for containment

Fire officials say they don’t know when people will be allowed to return to their properties. There are still dangers to navigate, including shifting winds and dead, standing trees that could topple down. 

“Nothing has been decided yet,” said Jenkins. “We definitely need to get some moisture before we really get deep into that one. But we’re starting those processes. We don’t want to have folks impacted any longer than we need to have them impacted.”

Officials said the number of estimated structures destroyed in the fires continues to stand at 150. That figure includes dozens of homes and cabins that were consumed by the Camp House Fire, mainly along the Highway 44 corridor north of the small town of Brimson. 

Randy Freyholtz., the chief of the Brimson area volunteer fire department, said 12 people on the crew are working day and night trying to protect homes.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of emotion … especially as it gets close to our homes,” he said.

Crews have used bulldozers to establish lines along the eastern and western flanks of the fire. They’ve also protected a critical cell phone tower north of the fire. Jenkins said he expects some containment of the Camp House fire to be announced in the coming days. 

Meanwhile, winds have begun to push the larger Jenkins Creek Fire a bit to the northwest, toward the town of Hoyt Lakes. Aircraft have been dropping water on that side of the fire to keep it in check. 

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Jenkins said no evacuations have been triggered for Hoyt Lakes, which, as of late Thursday afternoon, remained about seven miles from the fire. 

“I’m not going to say never, because you get a squirrelly wind that comes out of nowhere, but right now I’m feeling pretty comfortable with Hoyt Lakes,” Jenkins said at a briefing Thursday afternoon. 

Camp House Fire near Brimson

• 14,852 acres as of Friday morning

• Zero-percent containment

• About 150 structures destroyed, including homes and cabins

• Evacuation orders remain in place, extending east into Lake County

Jenkins Creek Fire southeast of Hoyt Lakes

• 15,571 acres as of Friday morning

• Zero-percent containment

• At least one structure destroyed

• Evacuation orders remain in place

Jenkins Creek Fire southeast of Hoyt Lakes

• 15,571 acres as of Friday morning

• Zero-percent containment

• At least one structure destroyed

• Evacuation orders remain in place

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