MADISON -- Think your fire is out? State wildfire control officials would like to make sure you check again! Wildfire Prevention Week is April 21-27 and the theme is to encourage the public to double-check for hot coals left behind from debris piles, campfires, or ashes dumped from cleaning out woodstoves or fireplaces.
Yard clean-up is an annual tradition for many landowners this time of year and a common practice is to dispose of their leaves, brush, and pine needles by burning debris piles. Debris burning continues to be the number one cause of wildfires in Wisconsin.
"In 2012, we found that of the 345 reported debris fires, 13 percent of those were caused by individuals who obtained a proper permit, but then failed to extinguish their fire before leaving," says Catherine Koele, wildfire prevention specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "Initially, these were legal debris fires, but overnight the embers, rekindled, escaped and caused a wildfire on the following day."