After a dry September and start of autumn, DNR warns of wildfire danger in northeastern Wisconsin

(This story was updated to add new information.)

After a drier-than-normal September, northeastern Wisconsin faces an increased risk for wildfires, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to be cautious with outdoor fires

The leading causes to increased fire risk includes dry weather, gusty winds, and small chances of precipitation, according to the DNR, along with dry vegetation from lack of rainfall.

"Part of the increased fire danger is how dry it's been for the last month. If there's not a lot of moisture in the soil and the air is super dry, then things can burn pretty easily," said Timm Uhlmann, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Green Bay. "Another key component is in the afternoons, humidity values are going to be quite low. Combined with the others, that really increases the fire danger overall."

Despite a wet summer, Green Bay didn't see much rainfall in the month of September. Green Bay only had 0.84 inch of rainfall, which is 2.2 inches less than what was normally expected for the month. Appleton meanwhile saw around 2.1 inches of rain in September, which would be over an inch less of what the city usually receives.

Areas north of greater Green Bay are under severe drought conditions, according to the National Weather Service Green Bay. Those include Door, Marinette, Forest and Florence counties and parts of Oconto and Langlade counties. "After a very wet start to the summer, drier than normal conditions returned in August to portions of northeast Wisconsin where locations north of Green Bay missed out on the heavy rainfall," the weather service said in a Facebook post.

After a very wet start to the summer, drier than normal conditions returned in August to portions of northeast Wisconsin...

Posted by US National Weather Service Green Bay Wisconsin on Thursday, October 3, 2024

In its press release, the DNR said that fire officials have been staffing fire equipment in northern Wisconsin. They also recommend that people avoid burning any debris until the ground is completely covered in snow.

The No. 1 cause of wildfires in Wisconsin is burning debris. Leaf burning is a common practice in the fall, with cooler temperatures leading to outdoor warming fires, according to the DNR.

As of Thursday morning, Brown and Outagamie counties had a "moderate" fire danger, while Oconto, Shawano, Menominee and Marinette counties are under a "high" fire danger, according to the DNR .

The DNR's description of the fire dangers:

• Moderate: A fire danger of moderate means wildfires can ignite and will spread but are relatively easy to contain.
• High: A fire danger of high means wildfires ignite easily, spread rapidly and can be challenging to control.

How to protect yourself through bad air quality

Wildfire smoke also produces bad air quality, which heavily impacted the U.S. during the Canada wildfires in the summer of 2023 . Although a wildfire in northeastern Wisconsin would not produce the same level of air quality, it can still be a danger for those who are vulnerable.

Craig Czarnecki, public information specialist at the DNR, had recommendations for those who may be susceptible to bad air quality if it were to take place. The sensitive groups include the elderly, children, and those who deal with any respiratory issue.

"We would encourage people in those sensitive groups to limit time outdoors, and limit the kind of strenuous activity outdoors until that advisory has expired. Just be aware of when those advisories are in effect, and then count on the different recommendations based on the advisory," Czarnecki told the Press-Gazette.

The Wisconsin Air Quality Monitoring Data has a map regarding the air quality in the state on the DNR website . Other resources to monitor the air quality includes the WisconsinAQM mobile app to receive air quality updates, the DNR's air quality updates , and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow Fire and Smoke map.

Rashad Alexander can be contacted at ralexander@gannett.com and 920-431-8214.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: After a dry September and start of autumn, DNR warns of wildfire danger in northeastern Wisconsin