The drier soil conditions over the past few weeks have enabled farmers in most regions of the state to prepare their fields and plant crops on a more normal spring schedule, unlike last year when planting was delayed several weeks due to unusually wet field conditions.
This spring, however, the drier conditions that have been more suitable for field work, also have increased the danger of wildfires. Most of the early fires have been in the southern two-thirds of the state.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources responded to 16 fires over the weekend, all of which were contained due to rapid fire suppression efforts. The leading causes of these fires were equipment, debris burning and improper ash disposal.
One of the fires included a 4-acre fire in Burnett County resulting from woodstove embers being tossed into the woods. Air tankers aided in the effort to reinforce containment lines provided by ground resources.