High Fire Danger poses problems for area fire departments

By Neal Hogden

A mix of a dry winter along with windy conditions gave local fire departments all they could handle over the past week as the Central Fire and EMS District responded to four separate fires in five days.

Friday, March 15

The Central Fire Department was paged for mutual aid at a barn fire on Century Road. Four structures on the property as well as two acres of grass were lost in the fire. Crews stayed on-scene for four hours and other departments that assisted onscene were: the Loyal Fire Department, Marathon County Dispatch, Clark County Dispatch and the Salvation Army.

Saturday, March 16

At 10:08 a.m., the Spencer Fire Department was dispatched to a re-ignition of the barn fire they had fought the day prior.

Around 4 p.m. that afternoon, the Central Fire and EMS District was once again called out for mutual aid to the Spencer Fire Department for a structure fire on Hwy. K about two miles west of Unity.

Spencer Fire Chief Troy Shull in an update on social media said the fire was working rapidly through the structure upon arrival.

“Upon arrival the fire was pretty heavy on the south side of the house,” Shull said. “The house was balloon frame type construction and the fire took over the house very fast. There were multiple structures in the surrounding area that made this fire a challenge to minimize the loss.”

Over the next 11 hours, the department battled the fire as hot embers deep in the basement of the house caused the fire to keep rekindling.

Monday, March 18

The Central Fire Department was dispatched to a grass fire near the Hwy. 13 off and on ramps from Hwy. 29. The cause of the fire is unknown but approximately two acres was burned next to the westbound lanes of traffic on the north side of the highway.

The district utilized UTVs and tankers to put out the fire in a wooded area just off the highway. The Colby-Abbotsford Police Department assisted with traffic during the call.

Tuesday, March 19

The Central Fire and EMS District was

See FIRES/ Page 5

ONE OF FOUR CALLS - Spencer and Central Fire personnel work to extinguish a fire inside a home on County Highway K west of Unity. The Spencer Fire Department said they were on-scene for a total of 11 hours at this particular fire and had several other calls throughout the weekend.

SUBMITTED PHOTO/CENTRAL FIRE AND EMS DISTRICT Fires

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once again called out to a structure fire, this time near Thorp around noon on Tuesday. Central Fire provided mutual aid to the Thorp Area Fire Department who arrived first on-scene to the active fire.

Prior to responding to grass and structure fires, the District had been performing controlled burns in the Colby area over the past few weeks. A section of grass was burned to the southwest of the Colby Municipal ball fields on March 6 and a section of ditch between Colby High School and Hwy. 13 was burned on March 13.

The Wisconsin DNR pleaded with the public to avoid burning due to the elevated fire danger. The DNR said locations in northern Wisconsin have gone over 30 days without precipitation. The combination of lack of rain, low humidity and breezy conditions have provided a perfect storm scenario for increased fire danger.

In its statement sent out on Sunday, March 17, the DNR said it has already had a busy fire season.

“The DNR has already responded to over 80 wildfires across Wisconsin in the past week, burning 182 acres, bringing the yearly total to 244 fires burning over 500 acres. The majority of these recent wildfires have been related to debris burning.”

The DNR urges Wisconsinites to check with local authorities or the DNR before burning to find fire danger and burning restrictions. Check with the Central Fire and EMS District on Facebook before burning debris or campfires as they have continued to put out updates in regards to fire danger.

Due to current and forecasted conditions, the DNR is suspending annual burn permits in DNR protection areas across the northern two-thirds of the state. Check the DNR’s website to learn if your property is within the DNR’s jurisdiction at https:// dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/forestfire/permits

UNDER CONTROL - A member of the Central Fire and EMS District observes a controlled burn that was put on by the department on March 13. The burn was a preventative measure to keep dry grass near Hwy. 13 from igniting and causing a fire.

STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN O’BRIEN