How quickly a normal day can turn into one of panic.
The community of Karlstad experienced just that this week when a wildfire threatened the community.
Eleven homes, including six mobile homes, in and around Karlstad were destroyed by the fire which swelled from 500 acres to more than 4,400 acres Tuesday afternoon, fueled by 40-mile per hour winds.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar toured the community before visiting the Falls Thursday. She said Mayor Nick Amb told her he went to work as a teacher at the local school like any other October day, only to put children back on the bus as the fire neared the town causing schools, nursing homes, businesses and homes to be evacuated.
It’s a reminder of the rage Mother Nature can bring to a community when the conditions are ripe.
Jon Handrick, assistant area forest supervisor with the Department of Natural Resources in Littlefork, told The Journal Thursday that the devastation could have just as easily occurred in Borderland because of the dry and windy conditions experienced across northern Minnesota.
We should feel lucky that it didn’t happen here, but we should also feel relieved that when events such as raging wildfires occur, Minnesotans come together.
An estimated 150 firefighters from about 16 fire departments, as well as Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and other agencies, brought the fire under control before nightfall Tuesday.
And we should also heed the DNR’s advice about how to stay safe under such extreme conditions, especially when so many of us turn to the great outdoors in the fall months. The DNR’s precautionary information is provided on another page in this edition.
While rain showers likely reduced the danger for a few days, more sunny, windy days could again ramp up the risk.
Stay safe, Borderland, by continuing to use good sense and caution with anything that could ignite a spark or a fire.
