Firefighting crews focused their efforts Thursday on the northwest side of the Jenkins Creek Fire, the only one of three major wildfires in northeastern Minnesota that was still growing.

Some firefighters were reallocated to the fire, which was growing faster than the Camp House and Munger Shaw fires. All three fires were zero percent contained as of late Thursday afternoon.

The Jenkins Creek Fire had scorched more than 20,000 acres southeast of Hoyt Lakes; the Camp House had burned nearly 15,000 acres north of Brimson; and the Munger Shaw, northwest of Duluth, had torched 1,700 acres.

The Camp House Fire started Sunday, and the Jenkins Creek and Munger Shaw blazes broke out Monday amid critical fire conditions caused by high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.

However, the severe conditions began to ease Thursday as cooler and wetter weather entered the region, though wind speed and direction remained a concern.

Deep in the woods

The area west of Cadotte Lake is “a lot of inaccessible country,” Brian Jenkins, U.S. Forest Service incident commander for the Eastern Area Incident Management Team, said during a news conference Thursday in Two Harbors. His team manages the Brimson Complex, which includes the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires.

Aircraft stationed in Ely, Hibbing, Bemidji and Brainerd have “been effective in keeping that in check,” Jenkins said. If wind gusts reach sustained speeds of 30 mph or more, however, aircraft won’t be able to fly.

Crews were monitoring the growth of the Jenkins Creek Fire in the direction of Hoyt Lakes, which has a population of some 2,000. St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay and Jenkins both said there was a very slim chance the fire could reach the town in the next 24 hours, if at all.

“Today we continue to make good progress,” Jenkins said. “The weather’s moderated a little bit.”

Jenkins Creek Fire crews were working to protect the flames from spreading to structures in the unincorporated communities of Skibo and Fairbanks, located just west of Cadotte Lake and 18 miles southeast of Hoyt Lakes. Air crews were working an area around an AT&T cellphone tower near Cadotte Lake that connects to other local communications towers.

The incident team has orders for 18 wildland fire engines that will arrive from across the U.S., relieving local departments statewide that have been working the fires, Jenkins said. At least three personnel will accompany each engine.

Orders are also being filled for 20- to 25-member Hotshot crews — specialized firefighters from as far away as Colorado, Tennessee and Montana.

“Cooperation’s been really good with the counties, the local agencies,” Jenkins said. “We’ve had a lot of resources from across the state.”

Jenkins did not have updated numbers on how many structures have been destroyed, but the most recent figure has been nearly 150.

“This is going to be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime fire, in terms of the number of acres and structure destroyed,” Ramsay said. “And it’s not over.”

“Any one of these fires would be a major event on its own,” he said.

Authorities said they were still trying to determine what sparked the fires, which have been fueled by trees killed and defoliated by the spruce budworm. No serious injuries have been reported.