Lack of snow and rain statewide is causing an early start to Wisconsin’s wildfire season.
The DNR responded to 15 wildfires this past weekend, including small ones in Oneida, Lincoln, and Price Counties.
The Wisconsin DNR is warning of high fire danger across the state right now.
All counties except Vilas, Forest, and Florence counties are at the high level for fire risk. Those three are in the moderate category.
“This year is a little unusual in the sense that we are snow free statewide and seeing kind of widespread, elevated fire danger. It's not uncommon to have these kinds of conditions. We do see them every once in a while, at least in my tenure,” said Wisconsin DNR Wildfire Prevention Specialist Catherine Koele. “It's just something we have to kind of adjust and make a priority in our work throughout the day.”
Koele says the DNR is at full staff to respond to fires as needed.
The DNR will also move resources around to where fire risk is greatest. Even though the majority of the state is at the high fire risk level, there are certain areas where more intense fires would be more likely.
“A lot of this could be driven by the type of vegetation that we're dealing with. Our hardwood areas are a little bit less prone to increased fire behavior. Where, in our sandy soil pine areas, they're a little bit more risk to higher fire intensity,” said Koele. “We kind of move things around knowing the geography, knowing the risk, and then we just kind of plan accordingly based on that.”
The forecast for the early part of this week indicates warm temperatures, low humidity and breezy conditions.
On windy, dry days, embers from any fire, especially burn piles and campfires, can easily escape control and cause a wildfire if not properly extinguished.
The DNR is asking people to avoid all outdoor burning, including limiting the use of campfires and bonfires.
Be sure to discard hot ashes from woodstoves or fireplaces in a metal container until cold.
The DNR is suspending annual burn permits in 25 counties where the DNR has protection responsibility.
The middle of week is expected to bring cooler temperatures and some precipitation, but that doesn’t mean the fire risk will lessen, at least not for long.
“With the roller coaster weather that we have we can see a little reprieve with some rain or snow, but unfortunately things can dry out very, very quickly, especially in the sandy soils and pine country,” said Koele. “You'll notice even your yard, it’ll be mushy one day and then it'd be really dry a day or two later, especially with these low humidity and breezy conditions, things can just turn around very, very quickly.”
So far in 2024, the DNR has already responded to over 50 fires burning 160 acres.
The 10-year average is three wildfires burning two acres.
Koele says while we are in for an early start to wildfire season in Wisconsin, it’s hard to know what the rest of the season will look like.
“We don't know what March and April can bring. We've had those big snowstorms that occur in March, and April is typically our rainiest month. We just don't know what the future holds. In fire control, we have to plan for the worst all the time. It doesn't matter if we have the rainy spring or not. It doesn't change how we do business and how we staff and prepare for fire,” said Koele.
As the state gets more into the peak of wildfire season, Koele says they’ll look at more long-term solutions by bringing in additional aircraft.
The majority of these recent wildfires have been related to debris burning.
Check before you burn. Fire danger and burning restrictions change every day. You can view the latest fire danger levels, burn restrictions, and current wildfires at on the WisBurn site.
FIRE SAFETY TIPS
- Avoid outdoor burning until conditions improve. Burn permits for debris burning are currently suspended in numerous counties.
- Operate equipment (chainsaws, off-road vehicles, lawnmowers, etc.) early in the morning or late in the day to avoid sparks at peak burn hours.
- Secure dragging trailer chains.
- Report fires early by calling 911.
