DULUTH, Minn. _ Spring wildfire danger is about to creep up across Minnesota and Wisconsin in coming days as the last vestiges of winter's snow melt away and the warming sun dries out grasslands and woods.
April and early May are usually the region's most intense months for wildfires, after snow recedes but before new green growth appears. Last year's dead grass and leaves dry quickly after a few days without rain. And any warm, sunny days with high winds and lower humidity now raise the chance that any small fires will grow big.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service in Duluth issued a fire weather watch for Monday, covering Cass, southern Itasca, Crow Wing, Aitkin, Carlton, southern St. Louis and Pine counties.
Minnesota and Wisconsin have already banned debris- and brush-pile burning, suspending all burning permits until further notice. Intentionally lit debris piles that get out of hand are the single-largest cause of wildfires in both states, and state officials say they want to avoid as many potential ignitions and emergency responses as possible as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.
"Any emergency call we can eliminate right now helps protect our people responding," said Leanne Langley, information officer for the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids.
Langley said wildfire crews are taking COVID-19 distancing precautions whenever possible but that firefighters are already deployed responding to fires across the state as conditions warrant.
"There are some parts of planning and (fire) management we can do remotely, by video meetings. But the firefighters and dispatchers are ready to go," she said. "One thing we might see is more trucks responding to fires" as crews spread out in more vehicles.
Ben Garrett, a Spooner-based wildfire specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said conditions in Douglas County, mostly missed by last week's snowstorm, are dry, and that crews already have been responding to small fires.
In Wisconsin, each wildland firefighter will respond to the fire in a separate vehicle due to COVID-19 restrictions, Garrett said, and instead of waiting at forestry fire stations for fires to be reported "and many of us are staffing that fire equipment from remote places to reduce interaction between staff."
He said crews are weaning masks, gloves and social distancing whenever possible and are taking extra precautions so sanitize gear and equipment.
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