BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis.– A wildfire east of Black River Falls was contained to 15 acres by firefighters. The fire was the largest of three reported in Jackson County. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued a warning a day earlier that melting snow uncovers pine needles and dead grass and leaves. Once dry, those items can turn into kindling, the agency said. Nick Hovda, a forest ranger in Wausau, said spring wildfires result from waste clean-up: “ We don’t get the bigger fires like the ones we see out West, but we do get a lot of ignitions.” Hovda said that nine out of 10 Wisconsin wildfires are human-caused, most started burning yard waste even while ground is still covered by snow. “That fuel bed is ready to ignite,” Hovda said.
