Wisconsin in drought, raising fire danger

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Eight counties in Wisconsin are now in a severe drought, while much of the rest of the state is in a moderate drought.

We’ve been following the dry conditions all week on Action 2 News This Morning. The dry conditions are also leading to an increased fire danger.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says most of the state has a moderate fire risk Friday while some counties in Northeast Wisconsin are at a high risk, including Menominee, Shawano, Oconto, and Marinette.

The fields are dry and winds are going to pick up this weekend. One spark to dry vegetation could set off a huge fire.

That’s why the DNR is asking you to be extremely cautious.

The DNR says gusty winds plus the lack of significant rainfall during the past month are behind the elevated fire risk.

Forest rangers say we typically see conditions like these in spring, not October.

In our area, Door, Kewaunee, Oconto and Shawano counties are considered to be in a “D2,” or severe drought.

“What we may be able to do is adjust to the weather,” Gene Schriefer, Wisconsin Farm Service Agency executive director, said. “I’m fond of, maybe it’s a bit of a cliche, but it’s not how much rain you get, it’s how much rain you keep. I think of this in terms of, if I get a three-inch rain can I capture it or do I get a three-inch rain and two-and-a-half inches of it runs off? That’s the difference in making a farm more drought resilient. If it does flood, does my field drain quickly?”

It’s less than ideal for farmers, but the executive director of the Wisconsin Farm Service Agency says he’s trying to stay optimistic.

“It’s a lot of year ahead of us. We’re currently in a dry pattern. The two-, three-, four-week forecast is warmer than normal and a little drier than normal, but drier than normal doesn’t mean no rain, it just means the odds of something happening are less that what we’d normally expect this time of year,” Schriefer said.

Conditions could change in the next few months.

The National Integrated Drought Information System predicts that through the end of the year the drought conditions will improve and we could come out of it completely.

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