Camp Ripley wildfire: 2K acres burned, crews establish control perimeter

Plans set for new Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley

In a former officers' quarters from 1931 and surrounded by the aircraft of wars gone by sits Minnesota's Military Museum, a museum at Camp Ripley that has been open to the public for more than 40 years.

CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Crews at Camp Ripley say they have since controlled a wildfire that burned thousands of acres, and have plans underway for controlled burns to prevent future ones from occurring.

Camp Ripley wildfire

What we know:

Camp Ripley’s fire department and emergency services say its crew contained a wildfire in the northern part of the training center on Sunday, March 29.

Authorities say approximately 2,000 acres burned during the incident, but crews have since established a control perimeter.

Crews from both the fire department and the Training Area Management team assisted during the effort to control the fire from spreading further.

Fire warning in Minnesota

Dig deeper:

A combination of warmer temperatures, low relative humidity and strong southwest winds fueled critical fire weather conditions across central and southern Minnesota over the weekend.

What they're saying:

"We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from the public as our crews work to contain this fire," Lt. Col. Steve Hall, deputy post commander of Camp Ripley Training Center, provided in an update. "The safety of our community and our personnel is our top priority, and we are committed to not only managing this incident but also to strengthening our strategies to mitigate future fire risks on the installation."

What's next:

The Camp Ripley Training Center says it has scheduled controlled burns in the coming days as a standard procedure to help prevent similar wildfires.

The burns are a proactive measure to manage dry vegetation and lower the risk of uncontrolled fires.

What we don't know:

Officials have not released details about the exact cause of the fire or if any structures were damaged.

Authorities have also not yet provided a timeline for scheduled controlled burns.