Multiple fires broke out in the area this week with recent dry and windy weather.
The National Weather Service issued red-flag warnings for fire weather on Monday and Tuesday.
At about 7:55 p.m. Monday, a fire north of Wadena on U.S. Highway 71 was reported, Wadena County Chief Deputy Bill Cross said.
Several fires were reported on Tuesday.
At about 11:12 a.m., a grass fire by 300th Street near Sebeka was reported, with the Sebeka Fire Department responding.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shortly after, at about 12:30 p.m., members of the Sebeka Fire Department also responded to a ditch grass fire caused by a MnDOT mowing tractor along U.S. Highway 71, between Sebeka and Wadena.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol and Wadena County Sheriff's Office also responded to the John Deere maintenance vehicle fire, which was doused while smoke from the Sebeka area fire was still billowing up north.
The driver of the tractor got out safely. Grass around the tractor was scorched, and the damage crossed into fenced property.
I.J. Godding of the Minnesota State Patrol said no one was hurt, although the tractor and mower appeared to be damaged, and the low humidity and high winds created fire danger higher than that of normal days.
Another machinery-related fire occurred in the Perham area around the same time.
On Tuesday at about 12:24 p.m., a cornfield fire was reported on Otter Tail County Highway 123, after a combine machinery malfunction caused sparks to fly, said Sue Nelson of the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office.
Later on Tuesday afternoon, at about 2:09 p.m., emergency workers were called to a rural property south of Verndale on Todd County Road 23.
No injuries were reported at the scene for either civilians or firefighters, and the residence itself appeared to be OK.
ADVERTISEMENT
Dan Fisher of the Verndale Fire Department said about 3 or 4 acres appeared to be affected, along with some machinery on the property.
Steve Peterson of the Hewitt Fire Department said the fire was of unknown cause.
"As dry as it is, it could be anything," Peterson said.
The fire departments of Hewitt and Verndale cleared the scene about 4:42 p.m., according to the Todd County Sheriff's Office.
Verndale Police Department, Wadena County Sheriff's Department, Todd County Sheriff's Department and Todd-Wadena Electric also responded to the scene.
Fires also occurred on Wednesday.
Cross said a fire caused by a burn gone out of control occurred about noon by 159th Avenue near Menahga. He said a person was issued a ticket.
At 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, a combine fire was reported near 130th Street with the Sebeka Fire Department responding, Cross said.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Wednesday, several grass fires were also reported for Otter Tail County, Nelson said.
Dry weather has taken its toll on the region, and Wadena County has been in official drought for the past few weeks. The county was determined to be in a moderate drought with measurements taken Sept. 18, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 for the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Counties in northwestern Minnesota, which were hit by large wildfires before snowstorms over the last few days, were classified as being affected by extreme drought, according to the measurements.
Jeff Makowski of the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said the larger fires appeared to be burning in Kittson and Marshall Counties.
Makowski also said red-flag Warnings are generally given when relative humidity is below 25 percent and wind speed is above 20-25 mph.