Despite fierce winds, crews keep wildfires in northern Minnesota from spreading

Despite ferocious winds that gusted across northeast Minnesota, the control lines established by firefighters around two major wildfires burning in rough terrain north of Duluth held on Tuesday and containment has grown on both blazes.

The Camp House Fire, which has burned about 12,000 acres near Brimson, is now 73 percent contained. The larger Jenkins Creek Fire is 13 percent contained. That fire has now consumed about 16,700 acres of forest.

Micah Bell, public information officer for the incident management team overseeing the two fires, said “it felt like the roof was going to get ripped off the building” at the incident command center in Two Harbors. But despite fierce east winds, the Jenkins Creek Fire did not get pushed west toward the community of Hoyt Lakes.

“All the great work that those hand crews and dozer and engine crews have done over the past 10 days or so, it all held really well,” said Bell. “So that's a testament to the work being done on the ground in the woods.”

More red flag conditions are in the forecast Wednesday, but Bell said the success crews had on Tuesday has fire officials feeling optimistic.

“I'd say the mood in the command post is definitely upbeat,” said Bell. “We’re around the corner and looking at the tail end of this thing.”

As containment on the fires has grown, the St. Louis County sheriff's office has opened up more of the area around the Camp House fire, including Highway 44 north of Hugo’s, the bar in Brimson that has acted as an unofficial community hub and meeting place during the fires.

As of Wednesday morning, some evacuation zones near the Camp House Fire were scaled back from red, or "go" status, to orange, or "set" status, as the risk from that fire decreases.

Nearly 600 firefighters from around the country are still working to fully contain the fires. Some crew members are moving from the Camp House Fire to the Jenkins Creek Fire to work to connect containment lines there.

Fire crews are flying 25-pound commercial drones over the fires to detect hot spots and direct ground forces to them to extinguish them.

And firefighters continue to use bulldozers to establish control lines around the fires to keep them contained. In areas that heavy equipment can’t reach, crews use hand tools to scrape a line through the trees 3- to 5-feet wide, down to bare soil, and then thin nearby trees and brush.

It’s cold, wet, exhausting work. Firefighters are putting in lots of orders for boot dryers, Bell said.

“But here's the thing, this is what they signed up for,” said Bell. “And even when they're out there and you think they're miserable, really, they love it. Wildland firefighters are a different breed.”

Camp House Fire near Brimson

• 12,071 acres as of midday Wednesday

• 73 percent containment

• About 150 structures destroyed, including homes and cabins

Jenkins Creek Fire southeast of Hoyt Lakes

• 16,748 acres as of midday Wednesday

• 13 percent containment

• At least one structure destroyed

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