MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers has declared a State of Emergency due to the extreme fire risk conditions across the state.
A red flag warning is scheduled to take effect at 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. across Southeast Wisconsin due to gust winds and relative humidity, which could lead to dangerous fire conditions.
Those conditions were felt by people out walking along the Forest Ecology Trail in Wauwatosa on Wednesday.
Jonathan Howell was out on the trail and said, "you can tell when you step down, everything is dry."
Now, Evers says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has requested wildfire support from the Wisconsin National Guard.
“Protecting Wisconsinites from the destructive danger of wildfire is a top priority. Although northern Wisconsin still has considerable snow cover, the danger is extreme across much of the state today,” said Gov. Evers.
According to a news release from the governor's office, his Executive Order calling for the State of Emergency will assist Wisconsin in rapidly mobilizing the National Guard's Blackhawk helicopters to areas in the state most in need of fire suppression resources.
“This executive order will give the Department of Natural Resources the ability to have all available resources ready to be quickly dispatched at critical moments to keep fires small and minimize damage," Evers said.
According to the DNR, the counties under an extreme risk for wildfires are Adams, Buffalo, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green Lake, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood counties, including the snow-free areas of Clark, Marathon and Shawano counties.
Warm temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds, and exceptionally dry fuels are anticipated and can result in catastrophic fires. Those conditions will be present Wednesday, hence the executive order from the governor.
In Mukwonago, Fire Chief Jeffrey Stein said he's concerned about places like Vernon Wildlife Area.
"With the wind speed and wind gust that's happening, because it's been several days of warm weather and they drying out of the underbrush and everything like that, just the speed of what a fire could travel in area that has dried material," Stein said about his concerns on a red flag day.
All of this means it's probably not the day to grill or have a backyard bonfire.
"Please avoid any type of burning," Stein urged. "If you have burn barrels of those types of things, stay away from that. If you have smoking materials that you disposed of them properly so they're not blowing away."
Stein said even trains passing through the area have the chance to set off a blaze.
"In Waukesha County we've had circumstances where trains go through, throw a spark and then with the wind that can be pretty wind-driven," he said.
In Mukwonago town and village ordinances don't allow burning when the wind is over nine miles per hour.
Brookfield issued a burn ban on Wednesday as well.
The DNR is expecting the dry conditions to persist over the next few days and heading into the weekend.
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