Red Flag warnings are fairly common in North Dakota. Wind is a conversation starter at most coffee circles, as is rain, or in this case the lack of rain. Double digit wind speeds are a way of life. Wind gusts that match the speed limit signs on the highways, well those will no doubt turn some heads.

There was a movie, Perfect Storm, the title was an oxymoron of sorts. The word storm is negative in nature. A winter storm usually means larger amounts of snow and high winds that combine for just plain miserable conditions.

Summer means the possibility of thunderstorms. If I were to think of a perfect thunderstorm it would include black clouds, lightning and thunder, torrents of rain and of course high winds. Since the movie, I have found myself explaining storms as perfect. In my mind it means that everything was in place to create a storm of epic portions.

Let me introduce you to a weather phenomenon that describes the recent destruction in western North Dakota caused by acres and acres of wildfires fanned by high winds and aided by dangerously dry conditions. First that started small were soon out of control. Small towns and farm communities were threatened as the intense winds drove the first across pastures and fields.

The situation was quickly compounded as not one or two fires broke out, but several fires that destroyed buildings and whatever else was in their way. For the first time in my lifetime, we had an all-out fire storm. Conditions had made this a “perfect fire storm”.

The very magnitude of the fires is hard to imagine through the lens of cameras that captured videos of volunteer fire fighters and community leaders using every available resource to contain these raging monsters. They spread fast and nothing, not roads or highways included, were able to slow them down.

Soon stories of humans and livestock caught in the path of the fire began to surface. Mother nature had unleashed winds that seemed to have no end. Thoughts and prayers were requested for western North Dakota communities like Tioga, Ross, Ray, Arnegard and for those residents of the MHA nation. The North Dakota National Guard was summoned to provide manpower and Blackhawk helicopters hauling thousands of gallons of water. There wasn’t much hope for a quick solution. The number of acres engulfed with flames was so unimaginable. Hard even for someone who has lived in North Dakota all of his life to fathom the miles of destruction. Only by the sure grit and determination of the thousands that would be sent to fight the first was the battle turned. Winning the battle was not easy, and there was the gut wrenching reality that there were human casualties. A young man who was soon to return home to South Africa to welcome his new baby. Another man overtaken by smoke who was transported to a local hospital and soon perished. This was not an easy pill to swallow.

Thousands of livestock that also got disorientated in the smoke and they would also perish or need to be destroyed. Still, in the true North Dakota spirit we heard voices that were thankful for what was saved. These same voices promised to start over, if necessary, and re-build. It was almost a mirror circumstance to those who battled through hurricanes in Florida. Very different in nature, yes, but similar in some of the end results.

As a journalist we are taught to use words to describe what is sometimes indescribable. On Saturday, more than a week after the worst of the fires had ravaged western North Dakota, we drove down Highway 2 on our way to Williston. At a high point near Ross, North Dakota we saw an entire landscape of charred, black landscape. To our right, a burned up tractor, to our left an oil well area melted into heaps of unrecognizable statue looking objects. There really are no words to describe what we witnessed. I cannot imagine what it was like to be in the battle and knowing that it would take a miracle to bring these monster fires under control.

You can say to yourself and those around you “it could have been worse”, and certainly it could have been much worse. And finally, thanks to all of the many volunteers who answered the call. Some left family and property behind to help a neighbor. And folks, that is what makes North Dakota special.

Best Kept Secrets
Friday and Saturday are the Pride of Dakota Showcase in the Magic Place at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. Hours are Friday from 3 PM to 8 PM, and Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free. The best North Dakota has to offer…

Today’s Chuckle
How can you turn back the hands of time in the digital age?