St. Louis County Wildfires Partially Contained, Still Trigger ‘State of Local Emergency’

BRIMSON, Minn. – St. Louis County authorities say a state of local emergency declaration was a “procedural step” to access state disaster relief funding.

More than 150 buildings have been destroyed, and 30,000 acres burned in north eastern Minnesota by the Camp House, Jenkins Creek, and Munger Shaw wildfires. While crews have gained partial containment of all three fires, on Monday, St. Louis County Board Chair Annie Harala signed a “Declaration of State of Local Emergency and State of Local Disaster.”

According to a county press release, “the declaration is a procedural step as part of the state’s process for counties to request state public disaster assistance for wildfire response and recovery activities.” The St. Louis County Board will hold an Emergency Meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

St. Louis County data shows the Munger Shaw fire is 95% contained while the Camp House fire is 40%, and the Jenkins Creek is 6%. The latter two fires are known collectively as the Brimson Complex.

For the latest updates on evacuation orders, road closures, or containments status of the fires you can visit the St. Louis County Sheriff’s wildfire information website.