Historic wild fires wreak havoc in western North Dakota
Patrice Bumstead
Farmer Editor
M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer
Wild fires throughout western North Dakota wreaked havoc on land, livestock and infrastructure over the weekend.
Drought conditions coupled with wind gusts between 50-70 mph on Saturday escalated the spread of multiple fires, causing a dangerous situation to become deadly.
Fires broke out in Arnegard, Ray/Tioga, Mandaree, Keene, Grassy Butte and Watford City. Mass power outages occurred, livestock was displaced, mandatory evacuations were placed on residents of Ray and Mandaree as fires devastated thousands of acres.
At the time of press, the Arnegard, Ray/Tioga and Mandaree fires were deemed contained by local and state officials. The large fire in southwest Watford City, named the Elkhorn Fire was still active, along with 20 percent containment and over 22,400 acres burned.
Arnegard Fire Contained Damage Assessment Underway
The Arnegard Fire Protection District (AFPD) announced on Sunday morning, Oct. 6, that the significant wildfire that had been burning near the town has been fully contained. The blaze, fueled by high winds and dry conditions, consumed approximately 561 acres of land.
The fire in Arnegard added to the already grim statistics released by state officials last week: what was then a total of 67 fires burning an approximate 3,500 acres throughout the state. This prompted Governor Doug Burgum to declare a statewide fire emergency on October 5.
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