About 250 More Wildfires Have Ignited Across Wisconsin

Monday, August 14th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) About 250 more wildfires than normal have ignited across Wisconsin so far this year due to ongoing drought conditions, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, as of Thursday, the agency’s wildfire dashboard showed the state has seen 871 fires that have consumed nearly 4,400 acres to date. The 10-year average for this time of year is 614 fires and roughly 1,800 acres burned, according to data shared with the Natural Resources Board on Wednesday.

"Prior to this, I think we had a drought stretch in 2012, (which) was the last time we were in this position," Catherine Koele, the DNR’s wildfire prevention specialist, told the board. "But, again, this year…it's been up and down. We see a little bit of rain. The grasses green up a little bit, and then it dries out again. So we've been on this roller coaster."

Wildfires have already consumed almost five times as many acres as last year when 923 fires blazed during the state’s fire season. Koele said the number of acres burned this year has largely been driven by large-scale fires in Monroe and Waushara counties, including the Arcadia Fire that spanned more than 3,000 acres at Fort McCoy.

Despite that, Koele said there’s been a steady decline in the number of wildfires on average over the last three decades. "That is good news for us," Koele said. "A lot of this is, I think, technology, rapid response time, keeping those fires small. We're having wetter springs. That's just the reality of it."

Spring is peak fire season in Wisconsin. Since 1950, the state has been growing warmer and wetter with average precipitation increasing about 5 inches, according to a report from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts. The past decade has been the wettest on record, and the state is likely to continue to trend toward wetter springs.

Even so, the report also found climate change has decreased summer rainfall in recent decades across northern Wisconsin. That, combined with longer growing seasons and warmer air temperatures, is increasing the vulnerability to wildfires of the state’s northern forests.

Koele said it’s unusual to see large-scale fires in July like one that burned around 730 acres in Waushara County. Debris burning is typically the number one cause of fires in Wisconsin during the spring. However, around 30 percent of blazes this year have been sparked by equipment.

The DNR has had staff on standby up to 35 percent more than average this year, and Koele said the agency has about 600 personnel who are qualified to assist with fires. She said recent rains have made areas less prone to fire, but she said it will take above normal rainfall to ease fire conditions statewide.

Data from the most recent U.S. National Drought Monitor shows almost half the state is under severe drought conditions across mostly southern and northwestern Wisconsin. Around 98 percent of the state is facing abnormally dry conditions.

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