A fire started by an illegal burn damaged one and a half acres of a cornfield in Fond du Lac.
The fire came as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources suspended burning permits and warned of very high fire danger statewide.
Firefighters say they responded to the 600 block of Whispering Springs Drive shortly after 11 a.m. Friday for a report of a field on fire.
Upon arrival, crews found a field fire, which had already burned an acre of dry vegetation. The fire was caused by a resident who was burning cardboard in a fire pit in the rear of his property, firefighters say. Hot embers extended to the dry vegetation, starting the field on fire.
“The very dry weather conditions, low humidity and strong winds make any outside burning dangerous,” Fond du Lac Fire Chief Peter O’Leary said in a news release.