MN wildfires: St. Louis County declares local emergency
Minnesota wildfires still burning after a week
FOX 9's Cody Matz shares the latest on the wildfires in northern Minnesota that have been burning for more than a week.
BRIMSON, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Louis County has declared a local emergency, which starts the process so it can request state public disaster assistance for its response to the wildfires that have destroyed thousands of acres over the past week.
Wildfires prompt local emergency declaration
Local perspective:
St. Louis County Board Chair Annie Harala signed a Declaration of State of Local Emergency and State of Local Disaster for St. Louis County on Monday. The declaration is a procedural step as part of the State of Minnesota's process for counties to request state public disaster assistance for wildfire response and recovery.
The County Board will need to vote on the declaration. The board will meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20. St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay will also update the commissioners on wildfire activities and response.
Wildfires have destroyed 150+ buildings
By the numbers:
The Camp House, Jenkins Creek and Munger Shaw fires have burned more than 30,000 acres of land and destroyed more than 150 structures, St. Louis County says.
The Camp House fire began on May 11. It has burned just over 12,277 acres and is 40% contained as of Monday morning, according to the Minnesota Incident Command System. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, firefighting efforts have cost more than $4.7 million.
The Jenkins Creek fire started on May 12. It has burned 16,332 acres and is 6% contained as of Monday morning. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, firefighting efforts have cost more than $1.4 million.
The Munger Shaw fire started on May 12. It has burned about 1,600 acres and is 95% contained as of Monday morning. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, firefighting efforts have cost more than $1.2 million so far.
St. Louis County Sheriff's Emergency Management division is working with impacted communities to conduct a damage and impact assessment report to be submitted to Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management to determine eligibility for state public disaster assistance.