DNR and others work to contain wildfire

Thursday evening the Wisconsin DNR in conjunction with Fort McCoy officials held a press conference at the DNR service center in Black River Falls to help clarify any misconceptions about the fire.

At 8:30p.m on Thursday the DNR released an updated list of evacuation areas including: Smothers Rd, Millston Rd, and Abbey Ave. to Blueberry Rd, including Archer Rd and Arrowhead Rd. There is  a hard  closure of Arcadia Rd from Smothers Rd to Blueberry Rd.

The Lunda Center In Black River Falls has been designated as the new evacuation center tonight.

At the press conference, Matthew Baker, Major General of the 88th readiness division and the Senior Commander at Fort McCoy spoke about how  much help the local DNR and other local agencies have been.

Senior Commander Baker said, "we do not know the cause of the fire at this time. We do know that we were doing prescribed burns, risk  assessments and evaluations were done before starting the prescribed burns." 

"We will be doing a very in depth investigation after this is done to determine a cause of the fire but our focus right now is to insure safety of personnel and property and to get the fire contained and put out."

He said, "this has visibility at the highest levels, the Secretary of the Army is tracking this down to all the other people at Fort McCoy." "We are committed to providing the resources we need to fight this and have two more air units on the way," said Baker.

According to Senior Commander Baker, there are different regulations since Fort McCoy is  a federal base, so the Governors red flag warning does not go into their decision making.

"I don't have a definitive timeline of when the investigation will commence and conclude, as there will be a lot that goes into it, but it's not going to be brushed away it will be one of our top priorities to figure this out," said Senior Commander Baker.

Michael Hillstrom, Public Information Officer for the DNR incident management team talked about the containment and said today they've ranged from about 46% containment to currently at 50% containment of a total of  3,000 acres, which as he mentioned "is making progress even on a very high fire danger day like today."

Hillstrom said, "we're having success, we have a lot of resources but it changes hour by hour of particular hotspots."

Hillstrom said, "I'm aware of four structures that were impacted and I know that two of the structures were outbuildings and all four structures were off base." There have been no injuries reported so far from the fire.

The process of the incident management team is to have a home base which they have at the DNR service Center in Black River Falls, people check in and get assignments and there is a room full of people who are strategically thinking about this and that there are backups to backups at every location. 

Hillstrom said, "we're very grateful for all the help we've seen from neighboring agencies and appreciate it."

Of the 3,000 acres of the Fort McCoy fire, only about 70 acres of the fire is off base. 

Original Article from Thursday a.m. below:

Wildfire training turns into actual wildfire at Fort McCoy

Consumes 2,800 acres

Fort McCoy Public Officials sent out a press release around 8 p.m., on Wednesday evening regarding an out-of-control fire on base. The press release read: "We are aware of a wildfire in progress on Fort McCoy's Northeast border. Installation Officials are working with local and regional fire departments to ascertain the extent of the fire. Preventing loss of life and property damage is the main priority at this time. Local residents are encouraged to follow their local fire department direction and guidance. No further details are available at this time. More information will come as soon as its available."

Earlier in the day, Fort McCoy public affairs had a Facebook post of their wildfire training, with Blackhawk helicopters completing water drops on a prescribed burn. Around 5 p.m., a responder on the scanner estimated that the fire had already consumed over 1,000 acres. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported, near midnight, that the fire had consumed over 2,400 acres.

At 8:30 p.m., the Tomah Police Department reported: “All northbound traffic on US 12/N. Superior Avenue, at State Highway 21, was blocked, to aid in the efforts with the fire north of Tomah. Officers are dealing with a considerable amount of traffic. Please avoid this area.”

With fire danger at a near all-time high in the area, the prescribed training burn seemed to have gotten out of control. On Monday, the Monroe County 911 Communications Center released an immediately effective burn ban for the City of Tomah, through Saturday, April 15th. 

At noon, on Wednesday, the Monroe County 911 Communications Center posted on their Facebook page, “It is a Red Flag Day, and all outdoor burning is prohibited. However, Fort McCoy is conducting a prescribed burn today. These controlled burns may put up a large amount of smoke in the area of their ranges. Fort McCoy Fire will be closely monitoring these fires.”

   Many fire departments from surrounding areas sent equipment and personnel to aid in remediating the fire. According to Sparta Area Fire District Chief, Mike Arnold, the Sparta District sent a brush truck and tender truck with a few personnel.

   According to chatter on the scanner, Fort McCoy fire officials were requesting tenders and brush trucks, from all the way down in Richland County.

   Chief Arnold said that in the immediate time frame, all fire departments can only send so many people and equipment, in case something happens in the areas they cover, due to the extreme dryness of the area.

As of press time Thursday morning, the Wisconsin DNR put out an update on the fire stating, “Wisconsin DNR fire crews and local agencies are on the scene of a roughly 2,800-acre wildfire in Jackson County, which is 48% contained.

Officials say the Arcadia fire began at the north end of Fort McCoy. Some voluntary evacuations occurred. No injuries have been reported. Three structures were damaged and one shed lost. The cause of the wildfire is still under investigation.

The fire is burning in oak and jack pine. Fire crews are making progress by using engines and dozers to build containment lines. Crews actively fought the fire overnight and operations continue today.

Six heavy units, four engines, Fire Departments from Fort McCoy, Bangor, Oakdale, West Salem and Warrens, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, State Patrol, along with emergency management are also on scene.

The Southwest District Incident Management Team has been activated and, under a unified command partnership with Fort McCoy, has set up the command post at the Black River Falls DNR center.

State patrol is monitoring smoke on the interstate and will shut it down again if visibility or fire conditions warrant it. Visit the 511 webpage for interstate closure information.

Today’s weather conditions continue to elevate fire danger, including a red flag warning in 38 counties with DNR suspending outdoor burning in the area. Contributing factors include warm temperatures, low relative humidity and very windy conditions.

Campfires, ashes from fireplaces, outdoor grills, smoking, chainsaws, off-road vehicles or other small engines have the potential to throw a spark, ignite a fire and spread quickly. Please use extreme caution and avoid burning until conditions improve.

For the most current fire situation and evacuation information, follow the DNR on Facebook and Twitter.”

As of press time US hwy 12 was closed between Millston and Warrens and Interstate 94 was open.

See a video here of the Blackhawk Helicopters getting water to help extinguish the fire.

https://fb.watch/jV79TWYz1y/