Firefighters battle N.D. wind, flare-ups

The Bismarck Tribune

MINOT, N.D. — Another day of dry, windy weather in North Dakota kept firefighters busy with flare-ups just outside Minot and a blaze along the railroad right of way in Wells County that led to a collision involving a car and a motor home.

"With these winds, things are just crazy," Minot rural fire chief Rex Weltikol said Sunday.

The National Weather Service said winds gusts were reported at more than 40 mph in Minot and Bismarck on Sunday afternoon.

"They will probably continue through the evening," Pat Ayd, a forecaster with the weather service in Bismarck.

Thunderstorms - a few possibly severe - could come later in the evening, he said.

Minot firefighters asked for more help from National Guard helicopters as they battled flare-ups of grass fires that threatened homes just outside the city.

"The fire on the east side has three separate islands that we can't even get at, so we had to call in for air drops (of water) to put that down so the treetops wouldn't burn," Weltikol said. "We actually experienced treetop fires spreading from the treetops with the wind. One of the power poles burned off and then, when they recharged the line, that started an additional fire."

In Wells County, officials said a train with a hot wheel lit fires along the right of way as it traveled over a stretch of about six miles along U.S. 52 from Anamoose to Martin. Authorities said the fire caused a traffic jam when drivers were unable to see the road and one motor home plowed into a car, injuring some of the occupants. The extent of their injuries was not known.

No injuries were reported from the fast-moving grass fires near Minot. Minot Police Sgt. Larry Haug said two homes, two outbuildings and some equipment burned but firefighters had not had time to tally up the damage.

The main threats were from one near East Side Estates, a subdivision a few miles southeast of Minot, and Trestle Valley, a few miles to the west. Residents were told to evacuate Saturday but Haug said they were allowed back home later that night.

Allan McGeough, executive director of the Mid-Dakota Chapter of the American Red Cross in Minot, said the agency assisted with hotel rooms for three families from the Trestle Valley area who suffered extensive fire losses.

Don Erickson said the flames were about 300 yards from his home in Trestle Valley.

"I give the firefighters credit," Erickson said, including the local farmers who came in with cultivator discs and companies with heavy equipment. "It's a great response. The only problem we had was with traffic out on the road. We couldn't get the fire trucks in."

The Highway Patrol and Ward County officials steered sightseers away from the fire areas. Authorities also temporarily halted trains through the areas.

The cause of the fires was under investigation.

More than 25 counties in the state have burn bans in place. Weltikol said all-terrain vehicle drivers also have to be careful because they can throw off sparks and pick up rocks that start fires.

"People have to be extremely cautious out there," he said.