NEILLSVILLE FIRE DEP'T BUSY; DNR IMPOSES BURNING BAN
Thursday, April 14th, 2005 -- 8:37 AM
The dry conditions have forced the DNR to implement new burning restrictions and led to a busy day for area firefighters.Yesterday, the Neillsville Fire Department was called to the scene of 3 grass fires.
The first at, 11:18 a.m., was at N4340 Hwy 73 ? about a half-mile north of Neillsville. The crew spent around 20-minutes at the scene of the fire and a small area of ditch was burned.
Then at 3:08 p.m., they responded to a grass fire N5711 Poertner road in the town of Levis. They spent about 45-minutes at the scene and the blaze gobbled up 8 to 10 acres of cornfield and woods. They believe a garbage burn started it.
No sooner did they finish their work there than they were called to another grass fire in the town of Pine Valley. This was a larger fire and the crew spent 4 hours on the scene. 25 acres of field and woods burned. The Wisconsin Department of National Resources and the Granton Fire Department assisted. Fire Chief Matt Meyer says the fire apparently began after some sparks from a cutting torch ignited a patch of dry grass.
Due to extreme fire danger, the DNR yesterday cancelled open burning permits and issued a halt to issuing new permits in all or part of 20 counties including Clark, Jackson, Eau Claire, Wood, Marathon, and Adams.
The DNR is urging people to check with local officials before doing any burning outside.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.