ISABELLA, Minn. — The power and unpredictability of a wildfire is now painfully clear to a handful of Minnesotans who lost homes, cabins or outbuildings to the Greenwood Fire.
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Lake County Emergency officials confirm that at least 12 homes or cabins and 57 outbuildings were destroyed when the wildfire exploded Monday, fueled by gusting winds, scorching temps and tinder dry landscapes.
On that day, the size of the Greenwood doubled, flames jumped Highway 1 and pushed to the area near McDougal Lake, where most of the buildings were lost. The owners have been contacted by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
“My heart goes out to those that did lose property, and I know those crews were doing their best (to) make sure they were trying to save those structures, so while the 12 is terrible, there are double, triple that number that were saved,” said Lake County Emergency Management Director Matt Pollman.
A community meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, where fire officials will brief residents on the status of the Greenwood Fire and others burning in the region.
Things have turned a bit since then, mostly due to the weather. Cooler temps, higher humidity and a bit of precipitation have helped slow the fire, which is now spread out over nearly 26,000 acres.
USFS says 476 firefighters, machine operators and contractors are on the ground Thursday, trying to hold and improve fire lines after crews spent Wednesday conducting strategic burns to consume natural fuels and create fire breaks. They are being supported by water-dropping aircraft, bulldozers and other equipment.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for McDougal Lake, Sand Lake, the Highway 2 corridor, and north of Highway 1 in the vicinity of East and West Chub lakes, Jackpot, Slate Lake and the Mitawan Lake Road area.
The Greenwood Fire was first reported the afternoon of Aug. 15 on the Laurentian Ranger District, about 15 miles southwest of Isabella.