Red Flag Warning for western Minnesota, U.P. of Michigan
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the U.P. and western Minnesota for Saturday (WDIO).
As dry and windy conditions continue, a Red Flag Warning has been issued for the U.P. and 27 Minnesota counties. Red Flag Warnings are issued by the National Weather Service when conditions indicate that fires will be able to spread quickly under the predicted weather conditions.
All counties in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are under a Red Flag Warning until 8 pm. Clay, Grant, West Otter Tail, and Wilkin Counties in Minnesota are under a Red Flag Warning until 9 pm. Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, and Yellow Medicine Counties are under a Red Flag Warning until 8 pm.
The Minnesota DNR says not to burn in counties where a Red Flag Warning is in effect. Check any recent burning to ensure the fire is completely out. Campfires are discouraged during the Red Flag Warning. The DNR will not issue or activate open burning permits for large vegetative debris burning during the warning.
For more information and daily updates on current fire risk and open burning restrictions, visit the statewide fire danger and burning restrictions page of the Minnesota DNR website, the WisBurn website, or this link for Michigan.
With relative humidity as low as 20-25% and sustained winds of 20-25 mph gusting up to 40 mph, all of the Northland has either high or very high fire risk.
Lake and Cook Counties both have elevated burning restrictions, with no open burning and other restrictions as needed. Most of Minnesota has no open burning at this time with campfires allowed.
In Wisconsin, burning is not allowed on Saturday in all of the northern counties, and all DNR-issued burning permits are suspended. Campfires are strongly discouraged but allowed if used solely for cooking or warming purposes.
Extreme caution is advised if using a campfire. The Wisconsin DNR says to consider having small campfires in a designated fire ring or device in the evening hours to avoid burning under elevated fire conditions typically found during the day. Burning in barrels, debris piles, and grass or wooded areas with your DNR annual burning permit is prohibited.
The Storm Track Weather Team is expecting gusty winds to continue through Sunday. This upcoming week is forecasted to stay dry, so fire weather danger is likely to persist through the week. The latest forecast details can be found here.