Northwest Wisconsin fire crews save nearly a dozen homes from wildfires

GORDON, Wis. (Northern News Now) – The Wisconsin DNR this past Saturday helped fight a record 48 wildfires statewide.

One fire burned 191 acres just north of the Minong area.

“We did have structures impacted almost immediately on that fire, so we brought in some resources from Minnesota,” said Ben Garrett of the Wisconsin DNR.

Officials say two mobile homes and five outbuildings were destroyed, but crews were able to save ten homes and 23 other outbuildings.

Garrett tells us more than seven northwest Wisconsin fire departments and a plane helped keep all those people from losing their homes.

That success is thanks in large part to close coordination.

“Wisconsin DNR has an understanding with local fire departments, we do a lot of training with them in the off season just to prepare for this kind of event,” Garrett said.

The Gordon Volunteer Fire Department was one of the teams that showed up to the Minong fire.

“Four firefighters and two fire trucks responded and coordinated with the Minong fire department and the DNR,” said Gordon Fire Chief Mike Chmielecki.

He said the dry weather makes this time of year a higher risk for wildfire.

“Right now, in the spring is obviously a very dry time of year, we have a lot of seasonal people coming back to their cabins and doing a lot of yards maintenance,” Chmielecki said.

Chmielecki says raking and cleaning off debris in your yard is something that could help protect your home and property.

Folks in the city of Gordon have a town dump where you can take debris instead of burning it. This will reduce the chance of starting a fire.

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