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

2024-12-26 01:22:10 source:lotradecoin fees category:My

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — One person died and others were evacuated from their homes as wildfires driven by ferocious winds and dry conditions raged through parts of western North Dakota over the weekend.

Six wildfires were reported, and, as of late Sunday, large fires near Grassy Butte and Mandaree were still considered 0% contained, the state Department of Emergency Services said. Four other fires were 90% to 100% contained as of 11:45 p.m. Sunday. Dry and windy conditions spurred the weekend fires.

Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden, 26, of South Africa, died due to critical injuries from a large fire near Ray in northwest North Dakota, the Williams County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday. Another person was critically injured, the sheriff’s office said.

The fires burned in scattered areas over a vast swath of North Dakota’s oil field, including agricultural land, grassland and rugged Badlands terrain where small, rural towns dot the map.

At least two homes and numerous outbuildings were lost in the 25,000-acre (10,117.15-hectare) Mandaree-area Bear Dean Fire that’s still burning, the department said. Damages in other fires included downed power lines, vehicles and outbuildings.

RELATED COVERAGE After the deluge, the lies: Misinformation and hoaxes about Helene cloud the recovery Hurricane Helene brings climate change to forefront of the presidential campaign Things to know about the investigations into the deadly wildfire that destroyed a Maui town

The fires led to evacuations in several areas and the temporary closure of U.S. Highway 2 near Ray. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people evacuated.

“This may go down in history as one of the worst combined fire situation in North Dakota history,” North Dakota Adjutant General Mitch Johnson said in a statement Sunday. “Yesterday we were on defense, but today we’re on offense.”

Wind gusts reported Saturday morning in areas of western and central North Dakota ranged from 57 mph to 75 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Most of western North Dakota is in some level of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum planned to take aerial tours of wildfire areas and meet with officials and locals on Monday.

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.

More:My

Recommend

Shanghai bear cub Junjun becomes breakout star

SHANGHAI — Adoring crowds are flocking to a zoo in Shanghai to watch Junjun, a bear cub just 11 mont

Google brings its AI chatbot Bard into its inner circle, opening door to Gmail, Maps, YouTube

Google is introducing Bard, its artificially intelligent chatbot, to other members of its digital fa

Michigan State to fire football coach Mel Tucker amid sexual harassment investigation

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University plans to fire head football coach Mel Tucker a week