MENAHGA, Minn. - Firefighters were getting the upper hand Wednesday on a wildfire that destroyed more than 50 structures as it scorched about 7,100 acres in northwestern Minnesota.
Jean Goad, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center, said crews were off to a good start toward containing the Green Valley Fire, which started on private land during windy weather Tuesday afternoon, about two miles northwest of Menahga, a community of about 1,300 people.
Crews built a bulldozer line around most of the fire perimeter and attacked hot spots with water-dropping planes and helicopters. Firefighters from more than 40 departments across the region were helping on the ground in some way, she said.
"It's pretty awesome to see people come out and work together," Goad said.
Fire managers said Wednesday evening the fire has destroyed 12 residences, two commercial properties and 41 outbuildings. The fire was 25 percent contained.
One of those homes belonged to Terry Burkman's brother, Bruce, who was out of state at the time
`'I never thought his house would burn because it's steel-sided, steel roof. Nothing close," Terry Burkman told Minnesota Public Radio. "So I was surprised. I thought that would be one house that wouldn't burn, being it was all steel. But somehow, coals got into the inside and just burnt it down. It's just a pile of scrap metal, about 3-, 4-feet high."
Officials raised the size estimate to 7,100 acres from an initial 3,000 to 4,000 acres, but Goad said that was based on better data, not new growth in the fire, which has burned a path about eight miles long and 1.5 miles wide. The cause remained under investigation, she said, and there were no reports of injuries.
