Copyright 2006 Star Tribune
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By BILL McAULIFFE
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and federal agencies battled dozens of small spring wildfires across northern and central Minnesota Wednesday, and officials were expecting a similar day today.
“We’ll still have high to very high fire conditions Thursday,’' said Cindy Sage, information officer for the Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Winds gusting to about 20 miles per hour coupled with temperatures approaching 70, and extremely dry air and ground material prompted the DNR to declare an extreme fire danger in 20 counties, including all seven central metro counties. Fires in such conditions can start quickly, spread rapidly and burn intensely. The remainder of the state was under only slightly less risk.
The National Weather Service also posted a “red flag’’ or critical fire warning for much of the same area of Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin Wednesday. That warning expired at 6 p.m.
Winds were expected to be lighter today in the metro area while picking up in northwestern Minnesota. But temperatures and air and ground dryness were expected to be similar in both areas.
Jean Bergerson, also an information officer with the Interagency Fire Center, said that although ground cover is turning green across central and northern Minnesota, the area is still short of soil moisture. Trees and grasses are using what’s there to develop leaves and fresh green color.
“If we don’t get some moisture up here, it’s going to put a false sense of relief in some people’s minds,’' she said of the greening. The forecast for the warned area calls for a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms Friday.
Wednesday’s grass and timber fires were mostly less than 10 acres each, although a blaze near Barnum, covering nearly 50 acres near some homes, required an air tanker and a helicopter to extinguish.
Bergerson added that people need to be alert to routines that could ignite fires in current conditions, such as tossing lit cigarettes on the ground or leaving recreational vehicles running in tall grass.