Wildfires Remain A Risk Right Now In Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – 63 wildfires sparked across the state over the weekend and burned 135 acres in wild winds and dry conditions.

An elevated fire danger resulted in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources suspending burn permits in 24 counties.

Fire danger remains “high” (yellow) and “very high” (orange) in most of the state early this week. The dry weather and strong winds will last through Tuesday. Gusts are expected to reached 40 mph in places Monday.

The DNR says they are staffing all available fire equipment across the state and shifting resources to areas with elevated fire risk.

An incident management team is also on standby to mobilize if a large fire ignites. The Wisconsin Army National Guard will also have two crews ready to respond with Blackhawk helicopters that have bucket capability.

Spring is the most critical fire season in Wisconsin.

So far this year, the DNR has responded to nearly 500 wildfires that burned 2,000 acres. This is almost double the number of fires in a typical year, and 49% of the fires this year have been caused by debris burning.

That’s exactly what people were outside doing over the weekend, cleaning up their yards and choose to burn. Others were burning off prairie or grassy areas for habitat management.

If planning to burn, it’s important to obtain proper burn permits, check the daily DNR restrictions prior to burning every day.

Rain is in the forecast for Thursday night and into Friday, which should help with the fire conditions across the state.