Dr. Paige Baker, who, along with his wife, Joan, reside on the ranch his parents established northwest of Mandaree in the 1950s, said, “All the pasture is gone.” He said his sister’s house also burned in the fire.

Baker said they evacuated from their home last Saturday about mid-afternoon.

“It was really tough. The fire was really dark – black. My son evacuated us and we followed him out. We couldn’t see the tail lights at all. We saw flames on both sides of the vehicle. It was terrible,” he said. He said they drove north to get out of the fire.

Baker said the cattle were moved out of the area two days before the fire.

Dr. Paige Baker, who lives northwest of Mandaree, said this photo was taken driving out of the Bear Den Wildfire last Saturday.

Baker said they returned to their home Sunday evening. The fire had burned within 15 feet of their home, he said.

Numerous local and area responders have battled the fire over the past days, including firefighters from the North Dakota National Guard. N.D. National Guard Black Hawk helicopters have been dumping water on the fire and heavy air tankers from Montana have been dumping fire retardant on the wildfire in the rugged terrain in the Mandaree area, according to the Governor’s Office.

“We saw two tankers going over dumping on the fires,” Baker said earlier this week. He said they have also seen helicopters doing the same.

“After every fire there’s what they call hotspots,” Baker said on Wednesday. “The trees are still burning and just little areas around all over the place that need to be put out. If the wind comes up, it will start again if there’s grass around.”

Flames with dark billowing smoke are shown in this photo of the Bear Den Wildfire, northwest of Mandaree.

This photo is a view south from the deck of the Baker home, northwest of Mandaree. “The fire was within 15 feet of our house,” said Dr. Paige Baker.