DNR Holding Mock Wildfire Exercise in Jackson County on August 27th

Thursday, August 18th, 2022 -- 9:00 AM

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will host a mock wildfire exercise on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022.

Personnel will be simulating a large wildfire starting in the Town of Brockway and spreading northeast. This exercise is a unique opportunity to provide a large-scale, hands-on training for fire departments to practice implementing their tactics for safe and effective wildfire operations.

The media briefing will be followed by the opportunity to film with the DNR Incident Commander, Jackson County Emergency Management Director and a local fire chief. Maps will be provided at the event with additional locations for filming fire crews at work.

Nearly 700 wildfires have occurred in Wisconsin since the start of 2022. The last large-scale wildfire in Wisconsin was the Germann Road Fire on May 14, 2013, which burned 7,500 acres in northwest Wisconsin.

This training location was chosen because the landscape is similar and a large wildfire in this area is a very real possibility. Almost 200 local residents in the mock fire path have volunteered to assist with the training by allowing fire fighters to access their property to simulate a real wildfire response.

Participating landowners will benefit by having the opportunity to meet with DNR wildfire experts to evaluate their property for wildfire safety. The training will run from approximately 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Please help us make this a safe training by driving at low speeds with headlights on and give fire equipment and personnel plenty of space to operate.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.