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Dayton orders Guard to Greenbush area wildfire

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Oct 7, 2011 at 9:24 am

GREENBUSH, Minn. (AP) - Crews plan to hit a growing wildfire in remote northwestern Minnesota hard Friday.

Two Black Hawk helicopters were dispatched to the Greenbush area after Gov. Mark Dayton ordered the Minnesota National Guard to assist firefighters.

Ron Sanow, spokesman for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center, says those helicopters each have 600-gallon buckets. The choppers will be paired Friday with two lighter, private helicopters to dump water on the blaze.

Sanow says 90 firefighters from other states are expected to join the ground fight Friday.

The Grand Forks Herald reports (http://bit.ly/riwXyp) the blaze has burned 48 square miles. The fire originated Wednesday afternoon 10 miles northwest of Greenbush.

No injuries or burned structures are reported. The burned area is mostly brush and grasslands, with little cropland.

The cause is under investigation.