Emergency crews are battling fires in western North Dakota

MCKENZIE COUNTY, N.D. (KFYR) – UPDATE: (10/5/2024 at 8:02 p.m.):

According to Williams County Emergency Management, there are two confirmed active fires in the county.

UPDATE (October 5, 2024 at 6:46 p.m.):

According to McKenzie Emergency Manager Karolin Jappe and National Guard Public Affairs Officer Nathan Rivard, the NDNG may be used on the McKenzie County fires. They had not planned to send the planes on Saturday evening, but possibly on Sunday morning.

UPDATE (10/5/24 at 5:59 p.m.): McLean County Emergency Manager Noelle Kroll says a fire is still burning west of Garrison.

She says there are multiple departments on the scene, including assisting farmers with tractors and discs to help fight the fire.

UPDATE (October 5, 2024 at 5:03 p.m.): Burlington County Fire Department Chief Karter Lesmann said he was sending three firefighters and a command car to Watford City to provide mutual aid.

UPDATE (October 5, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.): According to the McKenzie County Emergency Manager, first responders were dispatched to a fire south of Watford City around 2 p.m. Saturday. The area had already burned on Friday evening and was extinguished. It started again on Saturday.

Your news director will keep you updated as we learn more.

UPDATE (October 5, 2024 at 12:30 p.m.): Firefighting units about two to three miles north of Arnegard were able to contain an approximately 1,000-acre fire Saturday morning.

McKenzie County Fire Chief Rick Schreiber said the call came in around 2 a.m

He said when they arrived at the scene they were dealing with wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour. He said the fire spread incredibly quickly, spreading into an industrial area with homes and businesses.

He said that led officials to issue an evacuation order for residents under the direction of the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office.

Schreiber said about 80-100 people were evacuated overnight.

He said the fire was caused by the fall of an overhead power line due to strong winds.

With the exception of a few outbuildings and chicken coops, no structures were lost.

At least one semi-trailer, one car and several buildings were damaged by heat or fire.

Nobody was injured.

Schreiber said fire units from at least eight stations, road and shovel crews and local farmers and ranchers were on scene to assist.

The fire is now contained as crews continue to extinguish the hot spots.

The evacuation order was dropped at 8:50 a.m

While battling the fire north of Arnegard, Schreiber said he began redirecting arriving units to another reported fire in Keene around 5 a.m

The Badlands Search & Rescue Service has posted updates about this fire on its Facebook page.

McKenzie County Emergency Manager Karolin Jappe also confirmed a third fire outbreak in the southeast corner of McKenzie County, extending mostly into Dunn County.

Your news director has reached out to McKenzie County and Dunn County emergency managers and will update you as we learn more.

ORIGINAL STORY (10/5/2024 at 10:45 a.m.): Firefighters battled a series of fires in western North Dakota, primarily in McKenzie County, Friday night into Saturday, as strong winds worsened the situation.

Crews are battling a fire north of Arnegard that led to a temporary evacuation order for the area. The order has since been lifted, but according to the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office, residents were required to report to authorities at Arnegard Town Hall before returning.

We also received reports of a fire northeast of Keene. The MHA Emergency Operations Center also announced that tribal fire crews have been working to contain a fire in the Four Bears area.

In some parts of the viewing area, firefighters are facing winds of 50 to 70 miles per hour.

You can follow warnings and advisories here.

This is a developing story. Stay with your News Leader for updates.

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