High Fire Risk Found Across Most of Southern MN
St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Olmsted County is part of an area along the eastern edge of southeastern Minnesota that is among the few areas in the state not facing a heightened risk of wildfires.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is urging state residents and property owners to monitor the statewide fire danger and current burning restrictions.
“Don’t fall for the trap that cooler weather cancels fire danger,” said Casey McCoy, DNR wildfire prevention supervisor. “October is historically one of Minnesota’s most active wildfire months.” Following a hard frost, plants stop taking in moisture and begin drying, creating more available fuel for a wildfire, McCoy said.
The fire danger map shows the risk is rated as high across most of the southern half of the state and a section of northwestern Minnesota. In this region, the fire danger is rated as high in Mower, Dodge, Steele, Freeborn, and Rice Counties.
The Mower County Sheriff's Office has enacted a ban on open burning, citing an abundance of dry fuel that has created an explosive fire situation. On Tuesday, two combines and a tractor were destroyed by fires that started while the operators of the fire machinery were working in farm fields in separate areas of the county.