Weather turned fast in the Brainerd lakes area, going from snowstorm season to fire season.
Snow cover took a beating over the weekend with temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Monday's high reached 70 degrees—resulting in perfect conditions for fires. And fire season indeed arrived, as flames and smoke moved rapidly through a row of pine trees and grasses Monday afternoon along Crow Wing County Highway 4, burning close to 20 acres in Lake Edward Township, east of Nisswa.
The wildfire was reported at 2:46 p.m. Monday and firefighters from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Nisswa, Mission, Pequot Lakes and Crosslake fire departments worked together to extinguish the fire. It was contained shortly after firefighters' arrival. Authorities closed down a portion of County Highway 4 from Resort Road and County Road 118 to give firefighters space to work as the fire was close to the highway.