DNR Urges Extreme Caution with Outdoor Burning as Dry Conditions Persist

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the wildfire risk has exploded across central Minnesota due to another dry summer and fall, coupled with a lack of snow and little to no snowpack left.

DNR Conservation Officer Mike Martin explained to KNSI News what’s also fueling the flames is “these high winds recently. Anything that was damp got dried out pretty significantly.”

He says to get a permit for any fires needed to burn debris as officials keep an eye on who’s burning and have resources in the right areas if something were to go wrong. Martin cautions that it doesn’t take a large wildfire to cause significant damage. “There’s danger. There’s always the potential for it. Even a two or three-acre fire could potentially take out a couple of homes if it happens in the wrong areas.”

He doesn’t expect fire conditions to change until the weather gets warmer. “I don’t know if the ground is warm enough to green anything up. We’re going to need some warm weather, we’re going to need some moisture. And we’re gonna need some sunlight to start to green stuff up.”

He expects the elevated fire risk to remain for the next several weeks. Over the weekend, firefighters battled a blaze near Waseca that torched nearly 1,000 acres. Crews have also recently been fighting fires in Wadena County.

See the latest fire danger and burning restrictions here.

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