GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — The Minnesota Interagency Fire Center (MIFC) in Grand Rapids is the 'hub' where state and federal resources are coordinated to put out major wildfires statewide. They might be in for a busy season.
"The potential for large fire development certainly is here," said Paul Lundgren, the Minnesota DNR's Wildfire Section Manager.
Lundgren leads the DNR's wildfire preparation and suppression efforts across the state.
"I haven't experienced this in June," he said. "Over 28 years of being involved in firefighting [and] I haven't experienced May going into June [with] the conditions we have right now as far as general dryness across the state of Minnesota."
Heading into the Fourth of July weekend, the majority of the state is in some stage of drought, according to the DNR, and burning (and, in some cases, fireworks) restrictions are in place in some areas.
At the MIFC, it means crews and supplies are on standby.
It is not unusual for out-of-state crews and resources to be brought into Minnesota during the wildfire season. But normally that season is wrapping up in June, with Minnesota preparing to send its resources to states with a greater need. Instead, Lundgren says 12 out-of-state engines and accompanying crews are in the state right now. Normally at this time of year, there might be one helicopter and one plane on hand to fight any fires. Right now, they have six helicopters and eight planes.
Another problem is that the more dry the ground, the harder it is to put out fires.
"In early April or May, we're not seeing the fires burn into the ground like they do now. We're not seeing that large...woody material being consumed. It's different," he said. "As it continues to dry out, we spend more time on each incident that occurs, just because there's more on fire."
If Lundgren needed more reason to worry, there's this. He says in Minnesota July and August are typically drier months, and the state is heading into them far behind where it should be for precipitation.
"The opportunity right now [is] for not only for fire occurrence, but large growth fire potential," he said. "That's our concern."
Lundgren and the DNR want people to pay close attention to burning restrictions while traveling over the holiday and be careful when doing anything which could start a wildfire.