TOWN OF WHEATON (WQOW) - As we reported, Governor Evers has declared a state of emergency, as wildfire conditions have worsened across Wisconsin. There have already been hundreds of wildfires this year in the state, scorching more than 1,400 acres so far.
The combination of dry brush, low relative humidity and wind are prime wildfire conditions, and those conditions have been prevalent over the past several days. Fire officials anticipate a slightly longer than average fire season thanks to the early snow melt this spring.
Local fire officials said it's been a fairly typical year in terms of the number of fires that have occurred, but the dry conditions have made them harder to contain.
"This year, there's been larger fires," said Adam Blaskowski, Fire Chief of Wheaton Fire and Rescue. "They're just spreading a lot faster because the fire danger is a lot higher than it's been in the past."
There were multiple fires in the Chippewa Valley on Monday alone, including two fires that happened just south of 29 Pines along 30th Avenue in the Town of Wheaton.
A total of 41 firefighters from six departments battled the bigger of the two fires Monday evening, which burned roughly 50 acres. Wheaton fire officials said the first fire was caused by a cigarette. The second, smaller fire was caused by faulty farm equipment.
Another fire was reported in Polk County Monday near Godfrey Lake. It burned about 20 acres of land. The DNR reported two other small fires in the Town of Seymour in Eau Claire County.
These fires come after a weekend wildfire reported in Burnett County charred more than 17 acres of land, destroying three buildings.
Fire officials are looking forward to this week's rain, which will help dampen the wildfire risk. This time of year tends to present the highest risk for wildfires because there is an abundance of dry vegetation. The risk typically decreases later in spring and summer as new vegetation grows in and humidity increases.
Photo courtesy of Erick Woods
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April 06, 2021 at 11:16AM
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