MPCA: Air Quality Alert issued due to Greenwood wildfire smoke
Aug 17, 2021 05:59AM ● By Editor
Photo: KBJR-TV
By Molly Wasche of KBJR-TV - August 16, 2021
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an Air Quality Alert for the areas currently being affected by the ongoing wildfire in the Superior National Forest.
The alert will be in effect through 3 p.m. Tuesday due to the smoke impacts from the Greenwood Fire in the Superior National Forest.
An Air Quality Alert is in effect through 3 pm Tuesday due to expected wildfire smoke impacts from the Greenwood Fire in the Superior National Forest. The impact area is limited to inland portions of Lake County near and immediately downwind of the fire. #MNwx #AQI pic.twitter.com/GZtzKSVncj
— MN Air Quality Index (@mpca_aqi) August 16, 2021
The impact area is limited to inland portions of Lake County near and immediately downwind of the fire.
The fire is near Greenwood Lake and approximately 15 miles southwest of Isabella, MN.
As of Monday afternoon, officials said the current size of the fire is estimated to be at least one thousand acres.
Fire crews anticipate the fire to continue to spread northward due to southerly winds.
Officials are staging west of Isabella as they continue fighting the #GreenwoodFire. Lake Co. Sheriff told me 50 homes in the McDougal area have been evacuated so far. pic.twitter.com/0ef9rchAWa
— Kendall Jarboe (@KendallJarboeTV) August 16, 2021
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Fire crews are suppressing the fire on the ground and from the air.
WATCH: Planes scoop up water from Sand Lake, 20 miles west of Isabella. They’re dropping it over the fast-spreading #GreenwoodFire pic.twitter.com/e0fgl0HMOC
— Kendall Jarboe (@KendallJarboeTV) August 16, 2021
MPCA suggests children and adults suffering from asthma should limit their time outdoors during the alert.
MnDOT, State Patrol, and the US Forest Service will be closing Hwy 1 near Isabella. The road will be closed on eastbound Hwy 1 at New Tomahawk Road to allow traffic to go back to Babbitt or turn around.
Westbound Hwy 1 will be closed at Wanless Road in Isabella to allow traffic to use forest highway roads or turn around.
Lake County Sheriff Carey Johnson said they are currently looking at the next steps in the evacuation process.
“There’s not a whole lot we can do with it,” Johnson said. “The fire is just basically moving and we’re just more on a defensive and trying to keep lives and property out of the line of it.”
Incident Commander Jeb Backe said fire departments from several surrounding cities are helping battle the fire.
With limited resources, he wants everyone to do their part to stay safe.
“Just people being very cognizant of what’s going on around them,” Backe said. “I mean there’s a full-on burn ban in the area, so those campfires we don’t want to add to the situation by having other fires start that would take up resources we need to fight this fire.”
To see updates on this story and related reports, follow this link to the KBJR-TV website. https://kbjr6.com/2021/08/16/mpca-air-quality-alert-issued-for-inland-lake-county-through-3-p-m-tues...
