Wildfire Hits 40 Acres in Carlton County

At least one homeowner evacuated Tuesday as fire remained stubborn

The wildfire that had people scrambling near Barnum Monday night, continued to cause problems when the sun came up Tuesday morning.

It all started in a swampy marshland area in Carlton County, southeast of Barnum.

Fire crews from several communities responded on the ground to try and knock the fire out. Air equipment was also brought in, so that both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft got involved.

The fire eventually grew to about forty acres. Monday night’s water-drop air support was designed to cool and slow the fire, in hopes of keeping it from burning structures in the area.

But, at five o’clock Tuesday morning, James Klumb says deputies knocked on his door and told him it was time to leave.

“Fire got right up to the property line. They had me evacuate this morning because it was that close. Flames were going ninety feet in the air. And they looked like they were pretty close,” Klumb said.

“I mean, I ain’t got much. I got a forty-by-forty pole barn with an apartment in it that’s like fifty feet away from where the fire went through. And I can’t lose it. You know. I ain’t got that much to lose in the first place,” said Klumb.

The state interagency fire center said some roads were blocked throughout the day on Tuesday, and drivers were warned to slow down near the area of county roads eight and eleven.

The fire center says there is no official word as to what may have started the fire, and that the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.