National Guard deployed to fight Turtle Mountain wildfires

Gov. Kelly Armstrong has deployed the North Dakota National Guard to assist with wildfires on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, where more than a dozen fires burned near Belcourt and Rolla on May 5, according to reporting by InForum. Two Black Hawk helicopters and a surveillance plane were used to help contain flames in forested areas.

Jamie Azure, chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, told InForum that half of the fires were large but all were contained by Monday evening. Azure described the scene as looking “like a fire tornado” and said the cause may have been children playing with lighters. Several homes and a nursing home were evacuated, but none were damaged.