Weekend wildfires lead to 1 death, large areas burned in western North Dakota

Wildfires driven by ferocious winds and fueled by dry conditions raged through parts of western North Dakota over the weekend, leading to one death and forcing more than 100 people to evacuate their homes. Officials don't expect the region's tinder-dry conditions to improve soon.

Six significant wildfires were reported, and four of them 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 burned in scattered areas over a vast swath of North Dakota’s oil fields, including agricultural land, grassland 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 57 mph (92 kph) to 75 mph (121 kph), according to the National Weather Service. Most of western North Dakota is in some level of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The 44-square-mile (114-square-kilometer) Elkhorn Fire near Grassy Butte was 20% contained Monday, and the 18-square-mile (47-square-kilometer) Bear Dean Fire near Mandaree was zero percent contained, according to the state Department of Emergency Services.

“We do have to lean forward on this. We know that we're probably here until it snows. That's the honest-to-God-truth that no one wants to hear,” North Dakota Forest Service Fire Manager Ryan Melin said during a press conference in Watford City.

Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden, 26, of South Africa, died during a large fire near Ray in northwest 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 critically 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, said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Hollan. Thursday brings the potential for wind gusts up to to 30 mph (48 kph), he said.

At least two homes and numerous outbuildings were lost in the Bear Dean Fire, the department said. Damage in other fires included downed power lines, vehicles and outbuildings. There are no current evacuation orders, according to a department spokesperson.

Livestock losses were not immediately clear. State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said farmers and ranchers were still trying to assess the situation. North Dakota Stockmen's Association Executive Vice President Julie Ellingson said it could be weeks or months before a full picture emerges of the impact, given the wide area affected.

Gov. Doug Burgum toured wildfire areas and met with local officials Monday and said that Saturday might go down as one of the worst fire days in North Dakota's history in terms of the amount of land charred.

The North Dakota Forest Service logged 33 reported fires over the weekend encompassing 77 square miles (199 square kilometers). That figure does not include the large Ray-, Tioga- and Alamo-area fires that merged into one. Its size is still being determined.

“Unfortunately, we could be at this for a while because of the conditions we have,” the governor said.

Eighty to 100 people were affected by the evacuation order in the Arnegard area, where a 700-acre (283-hectare) fire began early Saturday, ignited by a downed power line, said Arnegard Fire Protection District Chief Rick Schreiber. Another 35 people slept on cots at a makeshift shelter Saturday night, McKenzie County Emergency Manager Karolin Jappe said.

Responders to the Arnegard-area fire dealt with wind gusts up to 73 mph (117 kph), and initial units had to back out to avoid being overrun by flames, said Schreiber, who requested every available unit in the county with 50 to 60 homes and businesses in the line of the fire.

He called the blaze “the fastest, most aggressive grass fire that I have ever been on, period, ever” in his 27 years of firefighting.

Firefighters battled 50-foot (15-meter) flames over tree rows, he said. He credited the response from multiple fire departments, the county and local residents to help fight the blaze.

The fire left a barren wasteland and nothing on the ground, Schreiber said. Jappe compared driving conditions to a blizzard but with ash, smoke and dust.

Many oil companies have shut off their flaring of natural gas during the dry period, Jappe said. Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative estimated 370 poles were damaged with 315 customers without power Monday afternoon.

Local, state, tribal and federal responders and agencies battled the fires, as well as National Guard firefighters and help from Montana and New Mexico, according to Burgum's office.