Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency in Wisconsin due to the extreme fire dangers across most of the state.
Northern Wisconsin is mostly at the low or moderate fire danger level because of snow still on the ground.
Southern Wisconsin has been snow free for a couple of weeks.
The dry conditions coupled with this week’s warm temperatures and strong winds have prompted the Wisconsin DNR to issue a Red Flag Warning for the following counties:
Adams, Buffalo, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green Lake, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood counties, including the snow-free areas of Clark, Marathon and Shawano counties.
Campfires, ashes from fireplaces, outdoor grills, smoking, chainsaws, off-road vehicles or other small engines have the potential to throw a spark, ignite a fire and spread quickly. The DNR urges people to use extreme caution until the fire weather improves.
The State of Emergency will allow wildfire suppression support from the Wisconsin National Guard and assist with rapidly mobilizing the Guard’s Black Hawk helicopters to the areas of the state in most need of aerial fire suppression resources during the spring fire season which generally lasts through May.
The DNR responded to nearly 60 wildfires in the last week.
