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A National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) Team is managing the Jenkins Creek and Horse River fires under a full suppression strategy. Ensuring public and firefighter safety remains a primary priority.

Continued effort to identify and suppress sources of heat, and cooperation from the weather, has resulted in gains in containment on the Horse River Fire. The fire is now considered to be 53% contained.

Cloud cover will dissipate through the afternoon, but another weather system will enter the area Saturday evening bringing the likelihood of substantial rain over the areas of both fires throughout the weekend.

Jenkins Creek Fire Quick Facts

Size: 16,145 acres                               Containment:94%                 Personnel: 204

Yesterday, the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS/drone) flights resulted in the location of only a few hot spots that were within the interior of the fire. Crews determined that these interior sources of heat posed no threat to the integrity of the fire perimeter and chose not to engage in suppression of these heat sources. Fire behavior has been dominated by creeping and smoldering ground fire. This sort of fire behavior has been described as ‘burning downward.' With this sort of fire, crews must be mindful of fire burning deep within duff, peat, stumps, or downed heavy logs.  Crews will continue to monitor and address any fire sources as they patrol the perimeter of the fire. Recognizing that sources of heat well within the interior of the fire may remain active into the summer, operational staff have begun to identify contingency lines along existing roads removed from the existing perimeter.  Fuel reduction using masticators will begin along contingency lines in the coming days.  New mapping with the UAS and ground crews will result in future acreage adjustments.

Horse River Fire Quick Facts

Size: 13 acres                                      Containment: 53%                 Personnel: 26

Cooperation from the weather, and continued effort to identify and suppress sources of heat, has resulted in gains in containment on the Horse River Fire. The fire is now considered to be 53% contained.  Crews in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness were unable to locate any active heat within the perimeter of the Horse River Fire for the third consecutive day. Today, they will start to dismantle the remote work site area and remove non-essential firefighting equipment. 

Fire Weather & Behavior:  Showers continue into Friday morning before decreasing in the afternoon. South winds will increase late Friday into Saturday ahead of the next weather system. Gusts of 15 to 20 mph are possible. The next weather system brings showers and thunderstorms across northern Minnesota Saturday night with gusty winds expected. Showers will remain in the forecast the rest of the weekend into early next week. These conditions should diminish fire behavior on the Jenkins Creek and Horse River Fires.

Contingency Lines: Wildland fire managers use contingency lines as secondary firelines strategically placed to support primary lines in case of the breach of a perimeter fireline.  These lines can be pre-planned, as is often the case in community fire protection plans, constructed before a fire starts, or built as needed during an active fire. Commonly, contingency lines are constructed by identifying an existing feature such as a road or rail line and then improving the strength of the contingency line by conducting fuel reductions along the line. Thinning of trees and mastication of materials on the ground are common techniques used to fortify contingency lines.