Spring Wildfire Season is Here

DNR and fire department officials warn Minnesotans how to best prevent wildfires this spring

NORTHERN MINNESOTA – It’s spring wildfire season in the Northland and, even though much of the region has gotten rain over the past couple days, the fire danger is still high.

Dry, exposed grass and a lack of green plants makes fire danger high this time of year.

One fire could be seen Saturday just off County Highway 100 near Hoyt Lakes.

The Minnesota DNR in the Cloquet area has battled at least 30 blazes like that one in recent weeks.

“We had a high fire day on Saturday. We responded to five wildfires,” explained Craig Ferguson, area forest supervisor for the Minnesota DNR. “Our average is probably one to three wildfires a day throughout our spring fire season here.”

Ferguson tells us 90 percent of wildfires in this area are caused by humans.

Many of those are started by debris burning, but there are a lot of other causes too.

“Power lines can start wildfires, brake pads or other faulty equipment on trailers of vehicles can throw sparks into receptive grass,” said Ferguson.

Meanwhile, the Duluth Fire Department has responded to eight grass fires this month within city limits.

Firefighters tell us their goal when putting those fires out is stopping them from engulfing nearby buildings like garages and houses.

“Typically what we see is we get a lot of ignition from cigarettes or carelessly disposed embers from a charcoal grill, and as that starts into a grass fire, we’ll see it extend into a structure through the outside of the building,” said Duluth firefighter Damon Laurion.

Significant rainfall over the last few days has lowered fire danger temporarily in Northern Minnesota, but firefighters warn the threat can get worse again quickly.

“If we get a couple of sunny days, that moisture doesn’t mean much and it can dry up in a hurry,” explained Laurion.

Fire departments say people need to be smart when building fires by checking if burning is allowed in their area, following regulations, and cleaning up flammable material after fires are put out.

Right now, the DNR is not issuing normal burn permits and they’re asking Minnesotans to find alternatives to burning.

“We’re encouraging folks to compost, chip, or use drop-off sites for leaves, brush, the things you would normally get a burning permit for,” said Ferguson.

Officials say this month has been one of the drier Aprils we’ve had recently.

They warn that if the dry weather continues into summer, the state will be at a high risk for forest fires.