The Bear Den Fire, one of several current wildfires and the only one not 100% contained, has burned thousands of acres. No one was injured.

According to information from the MHA (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) Nation Emergency Operations Center as of mid-day Wednesday, the Bear Den Fire was 85% contained, with crews actively addressing hotspots and no new flare-ups reported. It was also reported with dry weather and variable winds, the fire danger remains high.

“Our nation has been working tirelessly since October 5th to combat the ongoing fires in the Mandaree area,” said Mark Fox, chairman of the MNA Nation, in a news release issued Tuesday. “I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the MHA Nation Emergency Operations Center, local, state and national agencies, emergency responders, fire crews, volunteer crews from fellow tribal agencies and all community members for their unwavering dedication to protecting our communities.”

Fox expressed his gratitude to Gov. Doug Burgum’s Office “for their dedicated hard work and continued support. Their team has been instrumental in providing essential resources and assistance to our community.”

The Bear Den Fire scorched land in the Mandaree area. This photo by Karen LoneFight was taken Friday.

Emily Sitting Bear, director of the operations center, said well over 100 people were battling the fire at one point. “We’re so grateful for all their support,” she said. She said those helping with the fire not only were from in North Dakota but also from out of state.

“The list is very long,” she said.

In addition to all those battling the fire on the ground, Black Hawk helicopters from the North Dakota National Guard were sent to the site on Oct. 6 to dump water on the fire, large air tankers from Montana dropped fire retardant, two scooper planes from Bridger Aerospace in Montana dumped water and the Civil Air Patrol did photography, according to state and tribal information.

A hotshot crew from the Tule River Tribe in California, crews from Spirit Lake Nation and a strike team from Washington were among the many fighting the fire, according to MHA Nation and North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.

Sitting Bear said the National Guard hand crew left on Monday and the hotshot crew from California left Saturday morning. Spirit Lake Nation crews were scheduled to leave later this week. Sitting Bear said air support will be on call as needed.

Larger foliage being completely burned left white ash on the black charred ground where the Bear Den fire occurred in the Mandaree area. This photo was taken by Karen LoneFight on Friday.

She said on Tuesday there was some fire activity within the interior of the perimeter but it posed no threat at this time. “With the freeze warnings that we’ve had – the frost, the colder weather coming – that’s expected to help greatly and it did,” she said.

“They will actively monitor this perimeter of the fire for some weeks yet just to be on the safe side. There’s currently no threat to any structure, residences, graze land or anything like that,” she said.

Area wildfires update

Major fire updates as of Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., according to North Dakota Emergency Services, include:

– Buffalo Gap Fire near Medora

The Bear Den Fire scorched land in the Mandaree area. This photo by Karen LoneFight was taken Friday.

Size: estimated 1,000 acres

Contained: 100%

– Double Ditch Fire near Bismarck

Size: estimated 1,100 acres

Contained: 100%

Pasture 10 Fire near North Unit, Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Size: estimated 53 acres

Contained: 100%

– Elkhorn Fire near Grassy Butte

Size: estimated 10,313 acres

Contained: 100% contained

– Bear Den Fire near Mandaree

Size: estimated 11,746 acres

Contained: 85% contained

– Ray / Alamo & Tioga Fires in Williams County

Size: estimated 88,934 acres

Contained: 100% contained

– Arnegard Fire near Arnegard

Size: estimated 561 acres

Contained: 100% contained

– Garrison Fire near Emmet

Size: estimated 830 acres

Contained: 100% contained

– Midnight Run/Charlson Fire near Charlson

Size: estimated 6,000 acres

Contained: 100% contained

– MDN STAFF