Officials with Lake County held a press conference in Two Harbors to provide an update on the Stewart Trail Fire situation, which has been burning between Two Harbors and Castle Danger along Minnesota's North Shore.
The fire was discovered around 2 pm on Friday, May 15. Officials say the fire moved very quickly, creating a need to rapidly evacuate people from the area and close Minnesota Highway 61 between the northern edge of Two Harbors to the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel.
While estimates Saturday morning projected the fire had burned about 375 acres, county officials downgraded that number to about 355 acres, saying in their 7 pm update on Saturday, May 16 that the fire is 30% contained.
Officials say the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Crews say fire conditions have moderated through the day on Saturday, though there was a flare-up near the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel that required a concentrated aerial and ground attack to prevent the situation from getting worse.
Crews have been working to establish fire lines, with shifts of crews through the day and night to contain the fire and protect structures as best they can.
Despite those efforts, officials say a total of 34 structures were impacted by the fire to this point, with 8 of them being primary structures and the rest being outbuildings.
Power remains out for about 126 customers, with utility companies needing to do inspections before they will be able to safely start restoring power to those customers, once it is safe to do so.
The weather on Sunday is expected to change, with the wind shifting off the lake, which is a different direction than it has been blowing since the start of the fire. The establishment of fire lines should help as the wind changes direction.
Further (hopefully) helping the fire efforts are cooler conditions with higher humidity levels and a potential of rain coming into the picture on Sunday and the early part of the workweek.
The closure of Highway 61 and the related detour are expected to last at least through Saturday night, with the hopes it will be safe to start allowing evacuated property owners back in sometime in the next day or so.
Aside from the active fire, one other key concern is what are called "snags" or trees that have been burnt and weakened by the fire that could fall and cause damage or injury.
Until the road closures and evacuation orders are lifted, county officials are asking the public, including property owners, to respect closures and evacuations for their own safety and to allow fire crews to work as safely and quickly as possible in their ongoing fight of this fire.
If you are wondering how to help, county officials with Lake County say they are working with local organizations to start official ways for people to donate goods and money, though nothing is set up as of Saturday night. The first priority was the immediate safety of those impacted by the fire, getting them evacuated and providing shelter space for them as the firefighting efforts continued.
They say official ways for people to donate or offer help will be announced soon. In the meantime, you should be cautious of things that may pop up online that may be potential scams.
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Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper
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