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North Dakota is sending aid to South Dakota and Nebraska as immense wildfires ravage the states. ND Emergency Services describes the Nebraska fires as historic, and they continue to scorch hundreds of thousands of acres across the plains.
Governor Kelly Armstrong announced yesterday that the North Dakota National Guard has sent two 600-gallon “Bambi Buckets” to Nebraska, and the North Dakota Forest Service has dispatched an engine and three firefighters to South Dakota’s Black Hills.
Extremely dry conditions have fueled a massive fire season months ahead of schedule. The Morrill Fire in Nebraska is the largest in state history at nearly 800,000 acres burned, leaving one person dead. The Qury Fire in South Dakota has burned just over 9,000 acres, with 27% contained as of Thursday, March 19th.
North Dakota agencies are on high alert as “red flag” conditions move northward into North Dakota. High winds and low humidity have already triggered warnings and restrictions in several counties. Find warnings and burn restrictions for your county here.
For landowners considering burning piles this spring:
- Check conditions and restrictions–learn before you burn at NDResponse.gov/burn
- Burn only on days with low wind as piles can and do reignite in the wind, sometimes days later
- Create a 10-foot cleared mineral perimeter
- Create compact piles of natural debris no bigger than 4x4x4 feet
- Always keep watch over the fire as it burns
- Recheck piles days after burning to ensure embers are extinguished
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