North Dakota 2005

[NJFFSA16]

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Firefighters continued to put out hot
spots and worried about high winds Saturday after a grass fire
scorched a 6-mile-long swath near Wilton, injuring three
firefighters.
Mark Keller was listed in critical condition Saturday at Regions
Burn Center in St. Paul, Minn., a nursing supervisor said.
Geremy Olson suffered burns and a broken leg and James Meyers
suffered burns to his face, Wilton Fire Chief J.D. YoungBird said.
YoungBird said the men were stranded when the wind switched
direction and their truck stalled while fighting the fire Friday.
The men were engulfed by flames but were pulled out of the blaze by
other firefighters, he said.
"They were being careful - but the wind was so unpredictable,"
YoungBird said. "We all did what we were supposed to do."
A spokesman for Medcenter One hospital in Bismarck said Meyers
was listed in good condition Saturday. A spokeswoman for St.
Alexius Medical Center declined to release Olson's condition.
YoungBird said he spoke with Olson and Meyers Saturday morning.
"They were in good spirits," he said.
Keller also is a deputy with the Burleigh County Sheriff's
Department. Sheriff Steve Berg said he spoke with Keller's wife,
Michelle, on Saturday.
"She said he was coherent and able to talk and was doing about
as well as what could be expected, under the circumstances," Berg
said.
The fire started from a smoldering woodpile southwest of Wilton,
YoungBird said. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph pushed the mile-wide
fire north, he said.
The National Weather Service in Bismarck canceled a wind
advisory Friday night, when winds dipped below 30 mph.
Firefighters continued to put out patches of fire through the
night and into Saturday, YoungBird said.
Wind gusts hit 40 mph in the area again Saturday afternoon,
worrying firefighters, YoungBird said.
"The wind is picking up and it's a big concern to us," he
said.
Assistant fire chief Jeremy Birdsell said embers were still
being doused along some tree groves in the area late Saturday
afternoon.
Janine Vining, a National Weather Service meteorologist in
Bismarck, said winds were expected to gradually decrease overnight
on Saturday.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Reservation grass fire probe leads to juvenile arrests
bnfonspm
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
Associated Press Writer
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Four juveniles have been referred to the
courts as arson suspects, after an investigation into grass fires
on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
One official says the probe was the first of its kind on a North
Dakota reservation, but likely not the last.
In the first four months of the year, the Turtle Mountain
reservation had 150 grass fires, burning an estimated 1,300 acres
of land.
A task force of wildfire management officials conducted an
investigation in April, at the request of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, said Colleen Reinke, a fire prevention specialist for the
North Dakota Forest Service.
"The BIA had identified a problem ... but they didn't have good
information on what was causing the fires," Reinke said.
The task force, made up of people who are certified through the
National Wildfire Coordinating Group, determined that many of the
fires result from trash or field burning that escapes control, and
that most of the fires occur on weekends.
One of the main recommendations of the task force is for the
tribe to improve the permitting process for burning and to do more
to educate people on how to burn safely.
Turtle Mountain Police Chief Rod Trottier said the reservation
has grass fires in the spring and fall, on grass lands and in
wooded areas.
"We have a history of ... adults burning trash and it gets away
from them, and kids set (fires)," he said.
Reinke said that in some of this year's fires, children were
playing with matches and in others, older juveniles started fires.
No adults were charged in the fires, which officials said did
not cause any injuries.
Rolette County Deputy Sheriff Melvin Frank said two of the
juvenile suspects were referred to the state court system because
the fires started on state land.
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa prosecutor William Marcellais
said two other juveniles were being handled through the tribal
court system.
Reinke said the BIA will use the information gathered by the
task force in fire education and prevention efforts. The tribe also
has started a program for people to call in anonymous tips to law
enforcement officials.
The task force included Reinke; a retired Bureau of Land
Management fire official from Oregon; two BIA investigators from
South Dakota; and two wildfire management trainees, from Belcourt
and Wyoming.
"This is the first time that I'm aware of that a fire
prevention task force has been used on a reservation in North
Dakota," Reinke said.
Another task force likely will be convened next year, though
Reinke was not sure on which reservation. "It might be on
several," she said.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Severely burned Wilton firefighter back home

WILTON, N.D. (AP) - Wilton firefighter Mark Keller has spent
nearly two months in a Minnesota burn hospital. Now he's back home,
and happy to be there.
Keller was severely burned in an April 8th grass fire near
Wilton. He was greeted at the Bismarck airport yesterday with
applause from relatives and friends who came to welcome him home.
Keller says he's excited to be back, and he was surprised at the
number of people who came to the airport to meet him.
Among them were his boss, Burleigh County Sheriff Steve Berg,
and fellow Wilton firefighters Geremy Olson and James Meyer, who
also were injured when the grass fire engulfed their vehicle.
Olson broke his right leg jumping off the vehicle. He says he's
walking now, and he says both he and Keller are doing better than
expected.
Keller's wife, Michelle, says he'll start therapy today at St.
Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV 06-06-05 0823EDT

[NJFFSA16]

Welcome back Mark....be safe!

Severely burned deputy back on the job
WILTON, N.D. (AP) - A Burleigh County deputy who was severely
burned fighting an April 8 grass fire near here was back on the job
Wednesday.
Mark Keller, who also is a firefighter, is doing light duty,
working a couple of half-days a week with the sheriff's department.
Doctors said his return is about nine months sooner than they
expected.
Keller spent two months at a Minneapolis-area hospital after
suffering second- and third-degree burns while fighting the fire.
He is still recovering, but has been back out on the firing range
practicing shooting.
Keller credits his determination and all the support he has
received from others.
Keller was one of three firefighters injured when they were
surrounded by fire and their truck stalled while they were battling
the grass fire.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)