fire

3/31/99 from the
Eau Claire Leader Telegram

DNR investigates fire that got away
Intentional conservation burn goes wild
By Dan Lyksett
Leader-Telegram staff

   ARKANSAW -- The state Department of Natural Resources will investigate a fire intentionally set by employees that rekindled on a windy day and scorched 300 to 400 acres. The fire, which was set to improve wildlife habitat, sent two people to the hospital for smoke inhalation before it was tamed Tuesday evening.
     John Delamater, DNR regional land leader, said the department will collect incident reports from the employees involved -- including their plan for the "prescribed burn" -- and will investigate." One question would be whether or not the local fire regulations were adhered to, and I assume they were," Delamater said.
     Three DNR workers started the fire Tuesday morning in the Tiffany Wildlife Area in the town of Waterville in Pepin County. It was thought to have been extinguished by 11:30 a.m. But the fire rekindled a short time later, jumped a fire break and began burning to the north and northeast, pushed by winds that gusted as high as 37 mph In Eau Claire. Smoke could be seen and smelled from miles away. Durand Fire Capt. Don Sinz said he saw flames 10 to 12 feet high racing across dry grass fields. Sinz said a tractor driver cutting a firebreak across one field nearly became trapped by fire and heavy smoke." The fire came up, and he had all he could do to make it back to the road," he said. Two people were taken to Chippewa Valley Hospital in Durand, treated for smoke inhalation and released: DNR wildlife specialist David Linderud, one of the employees involved in the controlled burn, and Durand Fire Chief Lawrence Plumer.
     About 80 firefighters from six departments -- Durand, Plum City, Ellsworth, Mondovi, Nelson and Menomonie -- battled the fire throughout the afternoon and evening, stopping the flames just short of two houses along Round Hill Road. Another firebreak was established at the base of the heavily wooded Round Hill to protect houses. The fire also jumped the Chippewa River into the town of Maxville in Buffalo County, where it eventually was contained after burning about 100 acres .Firefighters and DNR employees remained on the scene today to battle hotspots and make sure the fire didn't re-ignite.
     Delamater declined to say what actions could be taken after the DNR's investigation. The fire departments will determine the costs of fighting the fire, Delamater said, and the DNR will contact town officials to see if compensation would be appropriate.
     Earlier this week a DNR official in Madison said the state's wildfire season is ahead of schedule, with nearly 200 blazes reported so far this spring -- double the usual number. The southern two-thirds of the state is brown. There is no green-up to speak of at all," said Ken Terrill, a DNR forest fire operations specialist. "The fire danger is anywhere from high to very high. It depends a lot on the wind." Through the weekend the DNR tracked 184 wildfires that had burned 250 acres so far this spring, compared with 92 that burned 407 acres by this date a year ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.