Since Thursday, at least 10 fires have broken out in St. Louis County because of the dry weather and strong winds.
One of those fires happened in Proctor, in a garage. Authorities say that a neighbor lit a fire pit, and the winds spread the fire. A red flag warning was sent out for Proctor and most of Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said on Friday that the state is still at a high risk for fires.
When there is a red flag warning, it means that fires can easily get out of hand because of the weather. The DNR has said that as of Friday, campfires are the only open fires that are allowed in the southern part of St. Louis County. But the northern part of the county is marked as having stricter rules on burning. This means that nothing can be burned, not even a campfire.
Kevin Helquist, head of the Proctor Fire Department, said that the garage fire could have been avoided.
Helquist said, “I mean, yesterday’s fire was a great example.” “In less than a minute, it pretty much consumed the garage, the garage next door, and then the siding on the house melted.” It made the other side of the friend catch fire. So, yeah, I don’t think you should do any outside burning right now.
He also said that people in North Dakota shouldn’t light fires outside until it rains a lot.
He said, “Right now it’s not a good idea.”
People in St. Louis County are told to call 911 if they see anything.
“People shouldn’t be afraid to call if they think someone is on fire or something is up there,” said Dewey Johnson, who is in charge of emergency support services. “The people who live there won’t have any trouble going to check things out.”
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