Aug 21, 2008 - 06:31:51 CDT
FORT RICE - Winds stirred up embers from a Tuesday night fire south of Mandan, burning six or seven miles of grass and brush along the Missouri River on Wednesday afternoon.Mandan Rural Fire Chief Lynn Gustin said the fire near Fort Rice on Tuesday night burned four or five acres of grass and trees. Firefighters stayed at the scene until 10:30 or 11 p.m. On Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was keeping an eye on the fire, but hot spots flared up and took off in the wind, he said.
The blaze didn't burn any structures, though it traveled six or seven miles along the Missouri River.
Janine Vining, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the wind was blowing 25 mph out of the south with gusts up to 39 mph at 5 p.m. Wednesday, with a high temperature at that time of 91 degrees.
Gustin said it's "almost impossible" to fight fires in conditions like Wednesday's wind and heat. At one point, firefighters back-burned 40 or 50 feet in the river bottoms to try to stop the spread of the fire. But when the wind came up, the fire easily hopped over the burned area, coming close to fire units, the chief said.
Eventually, the fire came to a bend in the river, where firefighters "pinched it off," Gustin said. By 3:30 p.m., they were watching hot spots and "mopping up."
Gustin said firefighters would continue to watch the fire through the night. Mandan Rural Fire Department had 10 units fighting the fire, the North Dakota Forest Service sent three trucks and Bismarck Rural Fire Department sent two.
The Red Cross also was on scene at the fire, with water, Gatorade and sandwiches for firefighters. Jutta Hopkins, director of West Dakota Red Cross, said the Red Cross has office staff and volunteers on call at all times to respond to emergencies.
"We try to take care of these guys," she said.
She said the Red Cross has been called out to quite a few emergencies, including fires, lately, and is running low on supplies such as bottled water and snacks for emergency workers. Anyone wishing to donate such supplies or money can do so at 4007 State St., she said.
Hopkins said emergency managers call the Red Cross, and they bring supplies for emergency workers or shelters.
"By helping (firefighters) stay fit ... they help protect property and lives," Hopkins said.
The Red Cross has been busy responding to fires in recent days, she said.
"I think we're going to have a long season," she said.
Until recently, there haven't been too many fires in rural Morton County this summer, though every time it gets hot or dry they flare up, Gustin said.
"It's going to start picking up if we don't get some cooler weather," he said.
Vining said today is expected to have similar conditions to Wednesday, but scattered thunderstorms are possible tonight and into Friday. After the thunderstorms move out, northwest winds are expected to follow, along with lower relative humidity. Those conditions are even more conducive to fires, Vining said.
Despite high temperatures and wind speeds in the Bismarck-Mandan area the last few days, the area has not been in a "red-flag warning" for fire danger. Vining explained that the relative humidity was too high for such a designation.
Burleigh and Morton counties are in a part of the state experiencing a "moist spell," while areas farther north and west have drought conditions, Vining said. However, the grass begins to cure this time of year, meaning there's "not a lot of green" out there, she said.
Burleigh County Emergency Manager Mary Senger said periods of rain that have accompanied drier weather have helped ward off fires. People also have been taking precautions to stop fires before they get out of control, she said.
"We don't seem to be losing the acreage we have in the past," she said.
The fires that have occurred have been closer to structures than in the past, partly because of new development and more people in the area, Senger said. A fire in Sterling on Tuesday, which appears to have been started by sparks from a passing train, came near numerous homes and the schoolyard.
Burleigh and Morton counties, along with 10 other counties, have burn bans based on fire conditions. So far, the burns aren't in effect, despite the high winds, Senger said. Burleigh and Morton both had "high" risks of fire danger, according to the Rangeland Fire Index, on Tuesday. A risk of "very high" or "extreme" or a red-flag warning issued by the weather service is necessary to trigger the ban. Four far-west counties in North Dakota have burn bans that prohibit all burning.
Even when burn bans aren't in effect, people still need to call the sheriff's department to inform them of any controlled burns, Senger said. She said people also need to plan ahead.
"A lot of it's common sense," she said. "The winds can change at any time. It's hard to fight a fire in the wind."
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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