9 million people under red flag warnings as fire danger envelops upper Midwest
At least 9 million people in the nation's upper Midwest region are under red flag warnings on Monday, including residents of Minnesota, where a wildfire was already burning out of control in the largest national forest east of the Mississippi River.
Potentially record-high temperatures, wind gusts of up to 45 mph, low relative humidity and dry conditions are elevating the risk of wildfires spreading quickly across a large swath of the upper Midwest. Red flag warnings signaling wildfire danger have been issued for parts of Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and nearly the entire state of Minnesota.
As red flag warnings were issued, firefighters in Minnesota continued to battle the Camphouse Fire in the Superior National Forest near Brimson, about 40 miles north of Duluth. According to the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center, the Camphouse Fire, which started Sunday afternoon, grew overnight to more than 750 acres and was 0% contained.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsey said at a Sunday night news conference that at least 20 residents in the area were evacuated. Ramsey said no injuries have been reported.
Making matters worse for firefighters were high temperatures forecast for most of Minnesota. Temperatures in the Duluth area are expected to reach the 80s on Monday.
Elsewhere in the upper Midwest, parts of North Dakota, including Bismarck, could break a record on Monday as temperatures are expected to climb to the mid-90s.
Residents of northern North Dakota and northern Minnesota are both under a "major heat risk" as the forecast calls for the hottest May temperatures in the area since 1987. The temperature in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is expected to reach 97.
The hot weather is also expected to spread to Texas on Tuesday. The cities of Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio are expected to surpass the century mark and could break daily temperature highs through the remainder of the week. The all-time record highs for May include 104 for both Austin and San Antonio.
Meanwhile, 16 million people across the South, including residents of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, are under flood watch warnings.
Southeast Florida was under an elevated risk of excessive rainfall on Monday, with some parts forecast to receive up to 2 inches of rain per hour.
Flash flooding is expected in urban areas of Southeast Florida, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
