Nearly 111,000 acres have burned in this wildfires across western North Dakota. After surveying the damage a week ago, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said it will be a long recovery process. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” It’s too early to know, but Burgum said Saturday, October 5th may go down as one of the worst combined fire days in the history of North Dakota. A total of 89,000 acres were burned in the Ray, Alamo and Tioga areas of Williams County with the fire 100 percent contained. Nearly 12,000 acres have burned in the Bear Den Fire east of Watford City and the blaze is 75 percent contained. The Elkhorn Fire near Grassy Butte is 75 percent contained and impacts over 10,000 acres. The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services reports the Double Ditch Fire north of Bismarck is 100 percent contained and impacted 2,300 acres. Two lives have been lost in these fires.
