Marc Sass-Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources/Contributed

More than forty wildfires ignited over 491 acres in Wisconsin on Easter Sunday. The fires contributed to a total of 154 confirmed wildfires and nearly one thousand acres burned across the state, according to a fire activity map provided by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Per a DNR pamphlet, concerns surrounding the risk for wildfires remain “very high” as of April 7, after Governor Tony Evers announced a State of Emergency in Wisconsin due to elevated wildfire risk on April 5.   

“Very high” fire danger expresses the potential for easy ignition, rapid spread and increased intensity of potential wildfires, according to DNR officials. The DNR considers landscape changes, weather and possible fuels when setting fire danger ratings.

“This year we are on pace for a very bad fire season,” DNR cooperative area forest manager Marc Sass told WDJT-Milwaukee reporters this morning. Sass says Wisconsin is already only 100 acres shy of what it combined to burn in all of 2020, with 51% of this year’s fires starting from debris burning.

“We are well below average on precipitation so far,” Sass said. “We would recommend if you could wait until your grass all greens up… when everything is green, that’s when our fire danger is the lowest.”

The DNR is recommending people avoid all burning at this time. You can check current wildfire conditions on the DNR website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *