Critical wildfire risk in Minnesota this week, Weather Service warns
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for 39 counties in central, northeast, northwest and southwest Minnesota.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
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The dry and warm weather over the past few weeks have come together to create the perfect conditions for a wildfire. So much so that the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for 39 counties in central, northeast, northwest and southwest Minnesota.
To explain that risk, Karen Harrison, a wildfire prevention specialist from the Department of Natural Resources, spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: The dry and warm weather over the past few weeks have come together to create the perfect conditions for wildfires, so much so that the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for 39 counties in central, northeastern, northwestern, and southwestern Minnesota today. To explain the risk, Karen Harrison, a wildfire prevention specialist from the DNR, is on the line. Hi, Karen. Thanks for taking the time.
KAREN HARRISON: Thanks for having me today.
CATHY WURZER: So this has been a very dry, very warm September, the warmest on record. And I'm wondering, how crispy is it out there that has folks like you a little worried?
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, we're seeing a lot of available fuels on the ground. And what that means is we're looking at the moisture level in different types of vegetation, like grasses, brush, trees, logs. And that's really adding into the fire danger and potential for wildfires in Minnesota right now on top of the weather conditions that we're seeing.
CATHY WURZER: So let's talk a little bit about the fuel. I can understand brush, but I'm wondering about trees. How does this going from 0 to 60 affect trees? And I'm saying how wet it was in the spring. It's now been quite dry. How does it make them more susceptible to, say, burning?
KAREN HARRISON: Well, every year as we go into the fall season, vegetation starts to slow down and go into a dormant stage and dry out. Trees are no different. They start to dry out as well and have a variety of different stressors, too, that might be impacting them in the environment.
And so our predictive services unit, which is at the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center, looks at what is the available fuel or what's happening on the ground with vegetation, as well as looking at geography and the weather. And all of those things combine into, what is the fire danger happening right now? And so fire danger fluctuates throughout the day as well as day to day.
CATHY WURZER: I'm wondering how common wildfires are this late in the year.
KAREN HARRISON: Well, fall is actually our second-highest season for wildfire in Minnesota. Spring is our largest season. But we see a lot of wildfires start to pick up as we go into fall.
That vegetation starts drying out. We have an increase in speed of wind, wind gusts. And that humidity level that we were seeing higher up over the summer is now dropping back down. And that increases the potential for fuels to ignite and then spread really quickly through that dry vegetation on the ground.
So we do often see fires happening in the fall. And we've already started seeing some kind of pick up. And as of right now, we're not seeing, in the forecast, something that's going to decrease that probability.
CATHY WURZER: How busy are crews-- how busy have they been here the past couple of weeks? We know about the fire that was in the BWCA. I guess that was started by some campers who were not starting fires in the correct manner. How busy have folks been out there?
KAREN HARRISON: The northeast and northwest parts of Minnesota have been having an increase, in particular in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota. So crews have been staffed. We're monitoring conditions really closely and making sure that our aviation assets are pre-positioned, our field stations are staffed. And equipment is ready across the state right now, but in particular in those northern areas where we're seeing-- today we're seeing extreme fire danger potential. And as we go into fall, we'll continue to do that until needed.
CATHY WURZER: By the way, what are the most common sparks for wildfires? I mentioned the campers up in the BWCA. But what normally gets a wildfire going?
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, in Minnesota, people cause over 90% of wildfires. And often it's not intentional. But the number one people-caused reason is from large vegetative debris burning. So people are maybe doing some work in their yard. Maybe they've trimmed some trees, or they're gathering their leaves. And then they're burning that large pile of vegetation.
And in windy conditions, like we're seeing today, those embers can be carried over a mile away and ignite and dry fuels on the ground. And so those large piles, really important today. No one should be burning a large vegetation burn today.
CATHY WURZER: OK. And then restrictions for burning probably will last, I'm betting, until we get a really good rain.
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, we need some significant rainfall to reduce the potential for wildfires in the state right now. And right now, we don't see anything in the forecast, but that can always change. So we'll keep our fingers crossed for some precipitation and go from there.
CATHY WURZER: So one final question here for you. You mentioned, of course, big piles of leaves and debris burning are not something you want to do today, for sure. Is there something that folks could do perhaps around their homes? We haven't had a really big wildfire that would affect a lot of homes recently. But is there something that homeowners could do? You're a wildfire prevention specialist.
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, we have our Firewise Program, and it's a way for homeowners and/or communities to work together to reduce wildfire risk around their property. And so there's some simple things that people can do. We have an online assessment, or they can also reach out to their local forestry office and get some help with knowing what might make the best or the biggest difference around their home.
But keeping your grass mowed, reducing the number of branches that are close to your house. You want to clean the gutters and move the wood pile away from your house. Little things like that can make a big difference. Oftentimes, homes start on fire from embers, not from direct contact. So keeping that vegetation away from your home or cabin can make a big difference.
CATHY WURZER: I did not know that. All right, Karen, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, thank you for having me. And be safe out there with any sparks or heat.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Karen Harrison has been with us. She's a wildfire prevention specialist at the DNR.
KAREN HARRISON: Thanks for having me today.
CATHY WURZER: So this has been a very dry, very warm September, the warmest on record. And I'm wondering, how crispy is it out there that has folks like you a little worried?
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, we're seeing a lot of available fuels on the ground. And what that means is we're looking at the moisture level in different types of vegetation, like grasses, brush, trees, logs. And that's really adding into the fire danger and potential for wildfires in Minnesota right now on top of the weather conditions that we're seeing.
CATHY WURZER: So let's talk a little bit about the fuel. I can understand brush, but I'm wondering about trees. How does this going from 0 to 60 affect trees? And I'm saying how wet it was in the spring. It's now been quite dry. How does it make them more susceptible to, say, burning?
KAREN HARRISON: Well, every year as we go into the fall season, vegetation starts to slow down and go into a dormant stage and dry out. Trees are no different. They start to dry out as well and have a variety of different stressors, too, that might be impacting them in the environment.
And so our predictive services unit, which is at the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center, looks at what is the available fuel or what's happening on the ground with vegetation, as well as looking at geography and the weather. And all of those things combine into, what is the fire danger happening right now? And so fire danger fluctuates throughout the day as well as day to day.
CATHY WURZER: I'm wondering how common wildfires are this late in the year.
KAREN HARRISON: Well, fall is actually our second-highest season for wildfire in Minnesota. Spring is our largest season. But we see a lot of wildfires start to pick up as we go into fall.
That vegetation starts drying out. We have an increase in speed of wind, wind gusts. And that humidity level that we were seeing higher up over the summer is now dropping back down. And that increases the potential for fuels to ignite and then spread really quickly through that dry vegetation on the ground.
So we do often see fires happening in the fall. And we've already started seeing some kind of pick up. And as of right now, we're not seeing, in the forecast, something that's going to decrease that probability.
CATHY WURZER: How busy are crews-- how busy have they been here the past couple of weeks? We know about the fire that was in the BWCA. I guess that was started by some campers who were not starting fires in the correct manner. How busy have folks been out there?
KAREN HARRISON: The northeast and northwest parts of Minnesota have been having an increase, in particular in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota. So crews have been staffed. We're monitoring conditions really closely and making sure that our aviation assets are pre-positioned, our field stations are staffed. And equipment is ready across the state right now, but in particular in those northern areas where we're seeing-- today we're seeing extreme fire danger potential. And as we go into fall, we'll continue to do that until needed.
CATHY WURZER: By the way, what are the most common sparks for wildfires? I mentioned the campers up in the BWCA. But what normally gets a wildfire going?
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, in Minnesota, people cause over 90% of wildfires. And often it's not intentional. But the number one people-caused reason is from large vegetative debris burning. So people are maybe doing some work in their yard. Maybe they've trimmed some trees, or they're gathering their leaves. And then they're burning that large pile of vegetation.
And in windy conditions, like we're seeing today, those embers can be carried over a mile away and ignite and dry fuels on the ground. And so those large piles, really important today. No one should be burning a large vegetation burn today.
CATHY WURZER: OK. And then restrictions for burning probably will last, I'm betting, until we get a really good rain.
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, we need some significant rainfall to reduce the potential for wildfires in the state right now. And right now, we don't see anything in the forecast, but that can always change. So we'll keep our fingers crossed for some precipitation and go from there.
CATHY WURZER: So one final question here for you. You mentioned, of course, big piles of leaves and debris burning are not something you want to do today, for sure. Is there something that folks could do perhaps around their homes? We haven't had a really big wildfire that would affect a lot of homes recently. But is there something that homeowners could do? You're a wildfire prevention specialist.
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, we have our Firewise Program, and it's a way for homeowners and/or communities to work together to reduce wildfire risk around their property. And so there's some simple things that people can do. We have an online assessment, or they can also reach out to their local forestry office and get some help with knowing what might make the best or the biggest difference around their home.
But keeping your grass mowed, reducing the number of branches that are close to your house. You want to clean the gutters and move the wood pile away from your house. Little things like that can make a big difference. Oftentimes, homes start on fire from embers, not from direct contact. So keeping that vegetation away from your home or cabin can make a big difference.
CATHY WURZER: I did not know that. All right, Karen, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.
KAREN HARRISON: Yeah, thank you for having me. And be safe out there with any sparks or heat.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Karen Harrison has been with us. She's a wildfire prevention specialist at the DNR.
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