BISMARCK, N.D. — Wildfires, caused by high winds and fanned by dry conditions, raged through parts of western North Dakota this weekend, killing one person and forcing more than 100 people to evacuate their homes. Officials do not expect the region’s tinder-dry conditions to improve anytime soon.
Six major wildfires have been reported, four of which were nearly or completely contained, state officials said Monday. Downed power lines were believed to have ignited at least some of the fires.
The fires were burning in scattered areas across a vast swath of North Dakota’s oil fields, including farmland, grasslands and rugged Badlands terrain where small, rural towns dot the map. Wind gusts reported Saturday morning in areas of western and central North Dakota ranged from 60 mph to 75 mph, according to the National Weather Service. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of western North Dakota is in some degree of drought.
The 17-square-mile Elkhorn fire near Grassy Butte was 20% contained Monday, and the 11-square-mile Bear Den fire near Mandaree was 0 percent contained, according to the state Department of Emergency Services.
“We have to lean into this. We know we’re probably going to be here until it snows. That’s the honest truth that no one wants to hear,” Ryan Melin, fire manager for the North Dakota Forest Service, said at a meeting. press conference in Watford City.
Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden, 26, of South Africa, died during a large fire near Ray in northwestern North Dakota, the Williams County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday. Detective Dan Ward declined to say how he died, citing an active investigation.
Another person was seriously injured, the sheriff’s office said.
The warm and dry weather pattern is expected to continue in western North Dakota at least through Thursday, with fairly light winds through Wednesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Hollan said. Thursday brings the potential for wind gusts of up to 20 miles per hour, he said.
At least two homes and numerous outbuildings were lost in the Bear Den Fire, the department said. Damage from other fires included downed power lines, vehicles and outbuildings. There are currently no evacuation orders, a department spokesperson said.
The livestock losses were not immediately apparent. State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said farmers and ranchers are still trying to assess the situation. Julie Ellingson, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, said it could take weeks or months to get a full picture of the impact given the large area affected.
Gov. Doug Burgum toured wildfire areas and met with local officials Monday and said Saturday could go down as one of the worst fire days in North Dakota history in terms of the amount of land charred.
The North Dakota Forest Service recorded 33 reported fires over the weekend, covering an area of 75 square miles. That figure does not include the major fires in the Ray, Tioga and Alamo areas that have been combined into one. Its size is still being determined.
“Unfortunately, we may be dealing with this for a while because of the circumstances that we have,” the governor said.
Eighty to 100 people were affected by the evacuation order in the Arnegard area, where a 700-acre fire ignited by a downed power line started early Saturday, said Rick Schreiber, chief of the Arnegard Fire Protection District. Another 35 people were sleeping on cots in makeshift shelters Saturday evening, said Karolin Jappe, McKenzie County emergency manager.
Responders on the fire in the Arnegard area faced wind gusts of up to 120 km per hour, and the first units had to withdraw to avoid being engulfed by flames, said Schreiber, who called in every available unit in the province with 50 up to 60 homes and businesses in the region. line of fire.
He called the fire “the fastest, most aggressive grass fire I’ve ever dealt with, period, ever” in his 27 years of firefighting.
Firefighters battled flames 50 feet high above rows of trees, he said. He credited the response of multiple fire departments, the county and local residents to help fight the fire.
The fire left a barren wasteland and nothing on the ground, Schreiber said. Jappe compared the driving conditions to a snowstorm, but with ash, smoke and dust.
Many oil companies have halted natural gas flaring during the dry spell, Jappe said. Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative estimated that 370 poles were damaged and 315 customers were without power as of Monday afternoon.
Local, state, tribal and federal responders and agencies battled the fires, as well as National Guard firefighters and assistance from Montana and New Mexico, Burgum’s office said.
