Submitted Image This is a map of the burn perimeter from the Ray area fires on Saturday and Sunday. Image from NASA Terra MODIS.

WILLISTON – A second person has died from injuries sustained from the wildfires engulfing areas of western North Dakota, according to the Williams County Sheriff’s Office in Williston.

According to the sheriff’s office information, the individual previously reported as receiving treatment for a critical injury has been identified as Edgar Coppersmith, 47, Tioga, who has succumbed to his injuries.

Coppersmith and Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden, 26, South Africa, are the lone deaths associated with the wildfires, which have burned tens of thousands of acres.

Coppersmith and Van Eeden were injured by the fires near Ray and Tioga, which later merged, but otherwise their deaths are not connected, according to sheriff’s office information. Eight other individuals were injured in the fires.

The Williams County Board of County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday in response to the recent high winds and expansive grass fires in Williams County. The declaration signed into effect is a continuation of the state of emergency declared on Saturday, which was set to expire after seven days.

According to information from Williams County/Williston Emergency Management, current estimates based on satellite imagery and Civil Air Patrol flight observations show that about 88,934 acres of land have been burned across central and eastern Williams County between Saturday and Sunday.

The fires were mostly contained as of Sunday morning, and an investigation into the start of the fires is ongoing.

The Williams County Dispatch Center fielded 182 emergency calls for service beginning in the mid-morning Saturday.

Response efforts for the fires were coordinated by Incident Command with the Williams County Emergency Operation Center involving 30 agencies from North Dakota and Montana, with a majority of first responders coming from volunteer-based agencies.

Additional wildfires have consumed nearly 30,000 acres near Watford City, and 12,000 acres near Mandaree, according to North Dakota Emergency Services.

The Elkhorn fire near Watford City is about 20% contained, according to the agency, but the Bear Den fire near Mandaree hadn’t been contained as of Monday afternoon.

Fires near Arnegard, Garrison (Emmet area) and Charlson were all extinguished by the early morning on Monday, but damaged outbuildings and vehicles were reported in the Arnegard fire, and downed power lines in the Charlson fire.