BRIMSON, Minn. — The largest of three wildfires in St. Louis County in northern Minnesota has grown to 12,000 acres since Sunday and consumed over 40 homes, cabins and other buildings, St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said Tuesday.

An update issued at 7:46 a.m. revealed that the Jenkins Creek Fire expanded to 6,000 acres, a significant increase from the 1,500 acres it had devoured as of Monday evening.

Scores of residents of northeastern Minnesota have been forced to evacuate their homes as several large wildfires grow and spread. Hot, dry and windy conditions are helping fuel the blazes. Gov. Tim Walz is calling up the National Guard to help local,

State and local fire teams have been leading the battle against the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires since they broke out on Sunday and Monday respectively. Jenkins Creek fire in the distance. Camp House fire in the forefront.

On Tuesday morning, the online tracker Watch Duty showed the Jenkins Creek Fire has grown to 6,000 acres in size, while the Munger Shaw Fire has burned more than 1,300 acres. Meanwhile, the Camp House Fire is now up to 1,

The heat will hold in Minnesota on Tuesday as elevated fire danger and poor air quality continue. Excluding the Twin Cities and southeastern Minnesota, the entire state will be under a red flag warning due to critical fire weather conditions caused by the heat,

A large swath of Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas and Nebraska was on high alert on Monday. Temperatures were expected to approach 100 degrees in some places.

At least 9 million people in the nation's upper Midwest region are under red flag warnings on Monday, including residents of Minnesota, where a wildfire was already burning out of control in the largest national forest east of the Mississippi River.