UPDATE: Munger Shaw fire containment up to 95%

5 A.M. MONDAY UPDATE: According to the Minnesota Incident Command System, the Munger Shaw fire is now 95% contained as of Sunday night.

The blaze is still burning 1,600 acres.

Crews patrolled and monitored the fire line Sunday, as well as utilized a drone to map the perimeter and find any areas of remaining heat.

St. Louis County rescinded the evacuation and road closures on Friday and are still advising residents to stay alert and pay attention when returning.

10 A.M. SUNDAY UPDATE: The Munger Shaw fire is now 75% contained, according to the Incident Command System.

The fire, which sparked Monday near Cotton, is still 1,600 acres in size.

10:30 P.M. FRIDAY UPDATE: According to the Minnesota DNR, 50% containment has been achieved in the Munger Shaw Fire burning just south of Cotton.

11:30 A.M. FRIDAY UPDATE: According to the Incident Management Team, the Munger Shaw fire is now 25% contained as firefighters worked through Thursday’s storm.

According to the St. Louis County Sheriff, the evacuation and road closures for the Munger Shaw Fire have been rescinded.

An amphibious tracked vehicle, the Marsh Master, was utilized for inaccessible wet areas as they worked to reinforce the containment line.

On Friday, they plan to strengthen and reinforce existing containment lines while beginning clean up.

Due to the more favorable weather conditions and the successful work on preventing further fire spread, residents will be allowed to return to their property.

The management team wants residents to be mindful of people working in the area and to stay alert.

8:45 P.M. UPDATE: The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday evening that the “Go” evacuation order for the Munger Shaw Fire is lifted.

Residents are now allowed to return to their properties.

The Sheriff’s Office asks that residents stay alert and aware of people working in the area.

12:30 P.M. UPDATE - According to Sheriff Gordon Ramsay, it looks better after a quick flare-up forced evacuations on Wednesday night.

Walk-throughs of the burn area on Wednesday revealed minimal fire activity, especially along the southeast, southwest, and northeast corners.

According to the management team, Thursday’s forecasted storms bring challenges for fire operations.

Ground teams are continuing to contain the fire’s edge.

10:00 P.M. WEDNESDAY UPDATE - New evacuation requests have come in from St. Louis County due to the Munger Shaw fire.

Evacuations have been requested for the residents who live along Munger Shaw Road and those leading up to Comstock Lake Road here in Cotton.

Because of the dangerous fire conditions, authorities are asking residents of this area to evacuate to the Old School Lives building.

Additionally, there are road closures at Three Lakes Road at Wrinkle Lane, where eastbound traffic will not be able to get through.

Westbound traffic at Three Lakes Road and Rush Lake Grade, and southbound traffic on Munger Shaw at Comstock Lake Road will have to find alternative routes.

This includes Tantuu Road, Elde Road, and Morley Beach Road.

One of those residents is George Shears, who owns a house two miles north of the fire on Pioneer Lake.

He said in his 25 years of living in Cotton, he has never seen anything like this.

“It’s still about two miles away from where we live,” said Shears. “We’re on the western shores of Pioneer Lake, which is a small, quiet little lake. We’ve lived there since 1999, first time we’ve ever had this kind of weather event.“

Evacuees are being told to go to Old School Lives in Cotton, where bunks and water are available.

3:15 P.M. WEDNESDAY UPDATE - New evacuations have been ordered in the area impacted by the Munger Shaw fire.

According to Sheriff Gordon Ramsay, “Due to fire movement, residents south of Comstock Road, west of Upper Bug Lake Rd, East of Lily Lake, and North of Wood Tick are to evacuate safely out of the area.”

The Cotton Community Center, which is located at 9087 Hwy. 53, will be available as a temporary evacuation point.

Click here for St. Louis County’s latest evacuation map.

11 A.M. WEDNESDAY UPDATE - St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay reports the Munger Shaw fire “died down a fair amout” overnight into Wednesday morning, but it is still impacting about 1,700 acres.

Ramsay says, as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, the fire is burning about 2 miles east of Lake Elora and about 2 miles to the southwest of Long Lake near Cotton.

Winds are expected to stay southeast in the Munger Shaw fire zone Wednesday.

According to the St. Louis County evacuation map, some residents near Pioneer Lake and Morley Beach Road areas are still being asked to evacuate.

While he did not have specific numbers, Ramsay said the Munger Shaw fire has damaged or destroyed structures.

6 P.M. TUESDAY UPDATE: The Munger Shaw fire has increased in size to approximately 1,600 acres and is slowly moving north, prompting an evacuation notice.

Evacuations have begun in the Pioneer Lake area along with the Morley Beach Road area.

There are road closures in the following locations:

• Three Lakes Road at Winkle Lane (no Eastbound traffic).
• Three Lakes Road at Rush Lake Grade (no Westbound traffic).
• Munger Shaw Road is closed at the Morley Beach Road. (no Southbound traffic)

Click here for the county’s latest evacuation map.

The Island Lake area is no longer in the pre-evacuation zone.

8 A.M. TUESDAY UPDATE: St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said the Munger Shaw fire is now prompting pre-evacuations near Island Lake.

The fire, which started burning Monday near Cotton, is still 1,300 acres in size with no containment.

There are no evacuation orders in place as of Tuesday morning, but there is a large pre-evacuation area, which includes the north side of Island Lake.

As part of the pre-evacuation process, residents are advised to start preparing to possibly evacuate.

There has been a loss of a few cabins and sheds from the fire.

According to authorities, the blaze started with a hay bale on fire.

10 P.M. UPDATE: The fire has been named the Munger Shaw fire and is currently 1,300 acres in size with 0% containment.

One official says it started on a farm and spread rapidly.

Structures have been damaged or destroyed but it’s unclear how many.

No word yet on any injuries.

The fire has been spreading north and east.

A cause is still unknown at this hour.

COTTON TOWNSHIP, Minn. (Northern News Now) - A third large fire is being reported in St. Louis County about an hour west of the Camp House fire Monday evening.

This fire is burning on both sides of Munger Shaw Road south of Three Lakes Road as of 5:30 p.m.

According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s office, it’s moving north quickly.

People living in the east half of Cotton Township including Morley Beach Road, Elde Road, and surrounding areas should evacuate.

An evacuation center is being established at the Cotton Town Hall.

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