Red flag warnings are in effect again Tuesday for much of northeastern Minnesota, with another day of extremely dangerous wildfire conditions in the forecast.
Growing wildfires have prompted expanding evacuation orders — with particular concern about the Camp Fire northeast of Ely.
An evacuation order now includes nearly all of the Fernberg Road, east of Ely and Winton.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said fallen trees from previous blowdowns in the Boundary Waters are fueling the fires, and led to explosive growth of the Camp Fire on Monday.
“That Camp Fire grew from literally minimal in the morning … and by the end of the day, that fire was 1,500 acres. So that is really indicative of the fuel that is in that area, and with these conditions, it’s just ripe to make them explode, like happened yesterday,” he said.
Ramsay said he expected the same conditions Tuesday, with winds pushing smoke from the Camp Fire south. That could create hazardous air quality conditions.
Smoke is expected to move southward toward the Ely area, “which could hinder some evacuation attempts with visibility,” he said. “Those that have breathing issues or in poor health really need to monitor the air quality today because they’re predicting that the air quality is going to drastically reduce here late morning, early afternoon.”
An air quality alert is in effect for the area through Thursday morning.
Ramsay said some campers in the now-closed Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness had to be rescued Monday — rather than paddling out on their own — after they were caught in the path of the expanding Camp Fire.
“With the winds and the fire moving rapidly, they got caught up on an island where they needed to be rescued,” he told MPR’s Morning Edition on Tuesday. “Fire service was able to get some boats together and rescue those folks and get them out of any danger.”
Find the latest coverage of the wildfires at MPRNews.org.
