DNR officials warn that northern Wisconsin’s drought could set off a record number of spring fires. Jay Stephenson reports from Superior.

DNR foresters fighting wild fires in northern Wisconsin are already having a busy spring. On Monday, they battled several fires, with one fire in Hayward setting a garage ablaze killing two dogs. Mike Luedeke is a regional forester in Spooner. “We had anywhere from 35 to 40 fires that we had to respond to, wildland fires, the largest one that I’m aware of was around 32 acres over by the Price/Oneida County Line east of Prentice.” Luedeke says Monday’s humidity level was the biggest factor in causing the fires to spread. “What was unusual about yesterday was the very low relative humidity that we experienced; we had relative humidity in the low 20% and very active fire behavior yesterday. It was fortunate we didn’t have high winds to push around the fires.” With northern Wisconsin facing a third year of drought, Luedeke says the DNR is prepared to face fires that could be in proportion to the record number in the spring of 1977. “In that year just four large fires in Wisconsin consumed over 49,000 acres in the spring of 1977 and that was in the late April and early May.” Luedeke says conditions are ripe for the northern region to face a similar outbreak. In 1977, Wisconsin was also facing a third year of drought. He warns that residents need to be careful about how they dispose ashes from their woodstove or charcoal grill, and they should also refrain from burning without a permit.

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