Greenwood Wildfire Could Threaten Homes as Winds Shift

(Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP)

FINLAND, Minn. – U.S. Forest Service officials are warning home and cabin owners who fled a wildfire in northeastern Minnesota that the winds could shift this weekend, putting their properties in danger.

Dozens of people got the warning at a public meeting Thursday evening in the small town of Finland. Minnesota Public Radio reports that officials gave them the latest about the Greenwood Lake fire and their strategy for trying to stop it.

The fire has grown to 7.4 square miles since it was first spotted Sunday.

The Forest Service says it was caused by lightning.

Around 200 firefighters are now working on the blaze, coming from as far away as Mississippi and Colorado. So far it has burned mostly north and west into the forest, and no structures have burned. Around 90 residents have evacuated their homes.

But the concern now is a cold front expected to move through the region on Saturday, something that incident commander Brian Pisarek said was keeping him up at night. He told the crowd that the front is expected to bring strong winds from the northwest, which could push the fire aggressively to the east, toward homes.

“The big unknown is this system coming through, is it going to be wet? If it comes through wet, and we get three-quarters of an inch of rain on it, and that happens before the wind, we’re golden,” he said.

But if the winds pick up and it doesn’t rain, Pisarek said, the fire could get out of control quickly.