Minnesota — Residents of northern Crow Wing County who were forced to leave their homes due to a wildfire this past weekend were allowed to briefly return to their properties Monday, as crews made progress containing the fire. The Flanders Fire started early Saturday afternoon southeast of Crosslake, and about 10 miles east of Breezy Point. It quickly erupted due to dry, windy conditions and grew to more than 1,600 acres. Higher humidity, cooler temperatures and lighter winds are helping the firefighting efforts, officials said. “The fire is really not actively burning along the edge,” said Tim Engrav, public information officer for the Minnesota Incident Command System team managing the fire response. “So it’s allowing fire crews to really work directly along that fire edge … to cool that edge and work towards containment.” As of Monday evening, authorities said the fire is 60 percent contained. 

Additional wildfire coverage from Minnesota, in Bring me the News, by Adam Uren: Properties destroyed, businesses close as North Shore wildfire nears 400 acres