California’s Dixie Fire might be 2,100 miles from Marinette County, but it’s rekindling memories of the Peshtigo Fire of 1871.
“Fires are not a thing of the past in Wisconsin. It is still a concern,” said Fred Axelrod, a retired Department of Natural Resources forester who is acting as the local public information officer for the upcoming Forest History Association of Wisconsin Annual Fall Conference in Peshtigo, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Peshtigo Fire of 1871.
Axelrod said he is heading to Minnesota this month to help with fire detail at an airport in an area at risk of wildfire. “Not that far away in Minnesota they’re having fires now.”
Dry conditions in Michigan also have sparked precautions. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has imposed restrictions on debris burning, fireworks and campfires in 21 counties.