Vegetation Fires In Areas Under Red Flag Warning

Fond du Lac County had several vegetation fires Wednesday, April 11, 2023, but none grew as large as one in Washington County.

It’s unknown exactly what time the fire started but at some point last night, the Newburg Fire Department was called out for the fire at 310 Knollwood Drive in the Town Of Trenton.

Due to the size of the fire and weather conditions, the call was upgraded and mutual aid was called in from the Filmore, Jackson, West Bend, Fredonia, Saukville, Grafton, Port Washington and Cedarburg Fire Departments. No other information is known on this fire.

A wildfire led to evacuations yesterday in Juneau County. The fire began in Necedah, about 90 miles north of Madison, and had spread to roughly 100 acres.

The Wisconsin DNR reported several buildings were lost in the fire.

Black Hawk helicopters from nearby Fort McCoy responded to assist with fighting the fire by hauling buckets of water and dumping them on the fire.

Heavy duty land moving equipment was also used to bulldoze makeshift fire lanes to help with the spread of the fire.

Around 7:45 last night, the DNR said that the fire had been contained but that crews are expected to stay in the area overnight to oversee fire conditions.

The National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan has again issued a Red Flag Warning for today, Thursday, April 12, 2023. The warning will be in effect from 11 AM – 8 PM today.

While wind gusts will not be as high as yesterday, temperatures and low humidity will support critical fire-weather-conditions across the area.

Any sort of outdoor burning is not advised.

The Wisconsin DNR has upgraded their rating for fire danger to extreme. A level 5 of their 5 level fire danger chart. A fire danger of extreme means
wildfires start easily, spread furiously, burn intensely and are very difficult to control.

Relitive humidity will be in the mid 20s today as winds blow in the 10-15 mph range.

Gov. Tony Evers has signed an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency in response to the elevated wildfire conditions throughout the state.