Wisconsin
Area and Wisconsin DNR fire officials say wild land fires are up significantly this year so far
EAU CLAIRE COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU) – A grass fire just south of Eau Claire is one of several that fire crews responded to in recent days.
“7 fires over the course of a week is a pretty busy week. Historically for how often our agency responds to fires,” said Andrew Sorenson.
He is a team leader with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division. Sorenson said the dry conditions have kept him and others responding to fire busy this year.
“We actually started our year really early. Our first fire in Augusta here was actually February 2nd. Which is very odd. We’re normally under snow cover,” said Sorenson.
The 7 fires he mentioned were for areas considered east of Eau Claire, which include: Augusta, Neillsville, Black River Falls and slightly up north Jim Falls.
He said there is a range of causes he knows of when it comes to the fires, and they include stray ambers and cigarette butts among other things.
“The last 7 days, our number cause has been down power lines. That’s a function of these high wind speeds that we’ve had,” said Sorenson.
“They spread really fast and can be much larger with the wind driven and the dry conditions we have currently,” said Altoona Fire Department Chief Mark Renderman.
He communicates with area fire departments through his role as president of the Eau Claire County Fire Chiefs Association.
“We’re responding to more grass fires, and even grass fires that are in your backyard, has been an increase this year than in years past,” said Renderman. “I would say we’re probably seeing about a 30% increase in wild land fires this year than last year.”
There are chances for precipitation in the coming days, but officials say that probably won’t be enough.
“We can have rain one day, and if we have a nice warm, blue, beautiful, sunshine day the next day, those grasses will be ready to burn,” said Sorenson.
He and Chief Renderman said things should ease up as the grass, and landscapes in general, become greener.
Sorenson said in the past 7 days there have been 87 wild land fires that burned 100 acres state-wide.
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About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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