Warm, Windy Weather Fuels Grassfires

Tinder dry countryside warm weather and high wind were all working against fire crews this afternoon and this evening as they battled to put out a large grass fire about 10 southeast of Minot The blaze threatened several homes and did quite a bit of damage before firefighters were able to bring it under control It s not quite clear yet what started it but in a matter of moments the entire country side was on fire Carey Larson Ryder Fire Chief We ve got units from Minot Rural Ryder and Makoti here Wind driven flames raced down this hillside and around a small dam heading north burning everything in its path towards several houses just a few miles away Carey Larson Ryder Fire Chief Don t know how fast it was moving but it was moving pretty fast We had a tough time getting control of it The terrain was another obstacle for firefighters with muddy sloughs and and rocky hillsides Carey Larson Ryder Fire Chief Especially up here there s a lot of rocks a lot of hay land pasture land it s tough to get through fences and stuff like that Thankfully the fire burned around the houses they were spared but the fate would not be the same for a small out-building a boat and several vehicles Carey Larson Ryder Fire Chief We didn t realize at first that the propane tanks were there and then when we realized seen the propane tanks down there we decided to pull everybody back for safety reasons Fire crews were forced to watch from a hillside until it was clear the two large propane tanks were no longer in danger After the flames died down around the propane crews moved back in and finished up their jobs Carey Larson Ryder Fire Chief We were very lucky up here that it wasn t more grass it was some water and some sloughs that held it from spreading too far and some gravel roads that stopped it It s not known yet how much damage was done by today s fire but at least these families have homes to go back to tonight after a very close call South of Minot east of South Prairie School Shaun Sipma KX News