After nearly two weeks, crews are getting the upper hand on northern Minnesota wildfires

After a nearly two-week long battle, firefighting crews are now making rapid progress containing two wildfires still burning in northern Minnesota.

The Camp House Fire, which destroyed about 150 structures including dozens of homes and cabins near Brimson, is now 90 percent contained. Firefighters are working inside the fire's burned interior to put out smoldering stumps and other hot spots.

Meanwhile the larger Jenkins Creek Fire, burning in more remote country east of Hoyt Lakes, is now 32 percent contained. Officials say the southern edge of that fire is now considered secure.

Firefighters there are flying drones over the burned area to locate hot spots that need to be extinguished. Two helicopters are also aiding ground crews.

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Combined, the fires have burned about 45 square miles of forest.

A road with burned trees — The aftermath of the Camp House Fire was evident Friday on a property along Highway 44 near Brimson.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News

Many of the roads in the areas around the fires have reopened. Evacuations in Lake County have been lifted. And improved conditions allowed St. Louis County officials to change several evacuation zones from "Go" to "Set" status.

With a holiday weekend approaching, fire officials ask people visiting the area, or checking on their properties, to exercise caution.

“We still have fire crews out there. We've got people working. We've got heavy equipment parked on the sides of the roads,” said Micah Bell, public information officer for the Eastern Area Incident Management Team, which is overseeing firefighting efforts.

“Don't be going up in there if you don't need to be. People shouldn't be just driving up there to go look around.”

Many trees burned in the fires remain standing and also present a safety risk.

“We saw a lot of those falling this week, and with the winds the last couple days, more have fallen,” said St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay.

“If you’re in that area and you have property, please be careful, not only looking down, but also make sure you’re looking up.”

Nearly 600 firefighters continue to work to fully contain the fires. Bell said he anticipates handing over management of the fires to a local team early next week.

Investigations into the causes of both fires remain ongoing. Last week Ramsay said early indications suggested the Camp House Fire may have begun with a possible campfire or brush fire that flared up or had burning embers escape from them. And he said the Jenkins Creek Fire appeared to have started alongside a roadway, possibly by a discarded cigarette.

Officials have not confirmed either theory. But they say the Camp House Fire started on private property. And they say the Jenkins Creek Fire was human-caused.