MINNEAPOLIS — State fire officials and the DNR are gearing up for a busy season of brush and wildfires, officially upgrading Minnesota to level three on the fire preparedness scale Tuesday.
There are five levels in total, meaning the upgrade is throwing a red flag following a mostly snowless winter across the state. Fire officials say the move up to level three essentially puts extra staff and resources on standby in case a major fire breaks out.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) says 70 fires have already broken out in Minnesota this year. The Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids is now hosting weekly meetings with state and federal agencies, including the Minnesota DNR, DPS, the U.S. Forest Service, and others.
DNR Wildfire Prevention Specialist Karen Harrison says the wildfire season started six weeks early this year and state agencies want to be prepared. “Our wildfire outlook does show that the potential for wildfire is very high March all the way through May,” Harrison says.
To prepare for a busy season the DNR called in their part-time seasonal firefighters, commonly known as Smoke Chasers, six weeks early this year. Harrison says the DNR has fire crews assigned to at-risk areas so they can respond when fires break out. She says the lack of snow this winter is one of the biggest factors behind the increased fire risk this year.
"Normally we have a lot more snow cover across the state and one of the things that does is compact the vegetation on the ground so grasses, leaves, brush, get packed closer to the ground where it stays moist and cool longer."
Harrison says in most areas grass has already dried out, and with the warm weather and wind fires can easily start and quickly get out of hand.
"90% of wildfires in Minnesota are caused by people. So, there's a lot of things people can do to prevent those fires from even starting."
The best way to prevent a fire is to follow the burning restrictions in your area. The DNR says any fire that's at least three feet high and three feet wide requires a burning permit right now.
For the latest burning restrictions and fire dangers in your area click here.