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Apr 7, 2009 12:03 am US/Central
Wildfire Burns 1,500 Acres North Of Metro
FOREST LAKE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Fire officials have reason to believe the fire was set on purpose and an investigation is underway.
CBS
Monday was a long, busy day for hundreds of firefighters in the North Metro. They have been working to knock down a grass fire in Anoka County that officials said was as long as three miles and as wide as one mile in some spots.
The fire started in the city of Columbus, near the Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area. Fire officials have reason to believe it was set on purpose and an investigation is underway.
Fire officials said a strong north wind, dry grass and brush and wooded areas served as fuel for a fire that has cause more than 30 homes to be evacuated.
"It makes me nervous. Coming home from work today and having to show a police officer my driver's license and asking [if] it was okay for me to enter," said Valerie Kjellberg.
Initially, fire crews battled the flames on foot. But, since many of the brushy and swampy areas were inaccessible, by late afternoon they took to the air, using a helicopter to dump water on a fire line that was getting a too close to peoples' homes.
"As you can see right there about what, a half a mile? That's too close as far as I am concerned," said Connie Green while looking at the fire from her backyard.
News the fire was likely set intentionally made Green and her neighbors even more upset.
"I hope they catch whoever did this, that's all I can say. They need to be stopped. This is threatening people's lives and their property and that's just not right," said Green.
Strong, gusty north winds made the fire particularly tough to control. By the time it had consumed 1,500 acres it was advancing to the south, east, and west simultaneously.
"It is not contained. We've got certain flanks contained, with the wind that we have tonight, it's picking up embers and moving it around to unburned areas. We'll be on this fire all night long," said Chief Gary Sigfrinius of the Forrest Lake Fire Department on Monday night.
Sigfrinius said there had been two other suspicious fires in the area Sunday night.
So far there have been no reported injuries and no buildings destroyed. Firefighters expect to be fighting the fire again Tuesday morning.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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