Winter can still be a season for wildfires the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding people after 750 acres burned in northwestern Minnesota.
The lack of snow, coupled with dry, windy conditions, prompted the DNR to remind Minnesotans that burning permits are required whenever there are less than three inches of continuous snow cover surrounding a planned burn area. Currently, permits are required to burn debris and vegetation in all Minnesota counties except Cook, in far northeastern Minnesota. Campfires are allowed without burning permits.
On Monday, 750 acres burned near the northwestern Minnesota city of Gully, in Polk County. The fire burned rapidly through wooded areas due to dry fuels and high winds. That fire is now contained, and firefighters were mopping up heavy fuels on Tuesday.
Fighting fires in the winter is difficult, said the DNR in a media release. Due to cold weather and low wind chill temperatures, firefighter frostbite and the freezing of water pumps are concerns.