Lighting Up The Grill Today? Careful: The Fire Danger Is High

The Department of Natural Resources is warning people to stay safe for Labor Day cookouts and campfires: The fire danger is high in parts of the state.

What started out as an oversaturated spring in Wisconsin has now turned into a hot and dry summer for much of the state, to the point that fire danger is elevated along the west-central and southwestern regions.

For a line of counties stretching from St. Croix all the way down to Green Lake, the fire danger is high. Catherine Koele, a wildfire prevention specialist with the DNR, says the recent dry spell has grasses and brush parched but muggy conditions are helping.

“Typically this time of year, we don’t have the dryness in the air,” says Koele. “We still have that humidity, which is actually fortunate for us, but in the sandier soils where we have a lot of pine trees that soil moisture dries out rather quickly.”

There were 20 wildfires across the state last week, with one in Sawyer County burning 13 acres. Koele says trees and other plants are stressed for water and pines are dying.

“When you see … the fire reaching the tops of trees, we call it torching,” says Koele. “That really is a good indicator of some pretty erratic fire behavior.”

Above all, Koele says people need to practice fire safety to keep themselves and firefighters safe. “It’s important to be careful with fire any time you’re in the outdoors, especially when you don’t have the precipitation going on.”

The DNR urges people to always make sure grills and campfires are out before leaving.