Extreme Fire Danger In NW Minnesota



(Grand Rapids, MN)  --  Fire officials are calling wildfire danger in northwestern Minnesota "extreme plus", while the remaining western third of the state is rated "very high."  Fire Information Officer Jean Bergerson says conditions are volatile, especially with high winds, and advises people not to do anything outdoors that could ignite a fire -- including using chainsaws and parking A-T-Vs in grassy areas.  Bergerson says fire crews are on scene of a wildfire near Fourtown in Beltrami County.  Over 14-hundred acres have burned and that blaze is only 10 percent contained.  Officials report seven other fires across northwest Minnesota, including a 500-acre blaze near Karlstad that's 50-percent contained.  Meanwhile, Governor Dayton has deployed 13 soldiers from the National Guard to help with suppression efforts, along with two Blackhawk helicopters.

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