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Much Of Northwestern Wisconsin Under Red Flag Fire Warning

Low Humidity, Gusty Winds Make Conditions Ripe For Wildfires To Spread

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The Germann Road fire in northern Wisconsin in 2013 is the largest wildfire to hit the state in over 33 years. The fire consumed 7,499 acres and was started unintentionally from a logging crew harvesting timber on industrial timber lands.
The Germann Road fire in northern Wisconsin in 2013 is the largest wildfire to hit the state in over 33 years. The fire consumed 7,499 acres and was started unintentionally from a logging crew harvesting timber on industrial timber lands. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

With very low humidity and gusty winds in the forecast, much of Northwestern Wisconsin has been placed under a red flag fire warning by the National Weather Service.

The red flag warning has been issued for St. Croix, Polk, Burnett, Barron, Washburn, Sawyer, Douglas, Bayfield and Ashland counties. Lee Britt is a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Duluth, Minnesota. He told WPR one of the triggers for a red flag fire warning is when relative humidity drops below 25 percent. In some parts of Northwestern Wisconsin, it’s closer to 20 percent.

“And the other main driver of that is going to be gusty winds,” said Britt. “And today we’re looking at wind gusts of around 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon hours, which if a fire does start, that makes it spread so much faster because we have dry conditions on the ground and the winds just flare out even more.”

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Britt said the northwest corner of the state is experiencing light drought conditions right now. He urged residents to check with local officials on current burning conditions before planning any campfires.

“One of the big things we ask is if you do see a smoke plume or something that seems suspect, then definitely call your county sheriff or your local fire department and report it because then we can provide support if that is an actual wildfire,” Britt said.

According to the DNR’s burning restrictions webpage, Douglas, Bayfield, Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer and Polk counties are experiencing very high fire danger. Burning restrictions are in place for those and neighboring counties.

A high fire danger warning has been issued for a wide swath of counties from La Crosse to Ashland and Pierce to Oconto.

Parts of Central and Northeastern Wisconsin like Wood, Marquette, Green Lake and Door Counties are experiencing low fire danger, according to the DNR, while southern Wisconsin is listed in the moderate fire danger range.

The DNR is responding to a small fire in Washburn County that burned one structure.

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