WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-Dry Conditions Spark La Crosse Area Grass Fires
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Reported by Lara ReedOver the past 14 days in April, the La Crosse area has only seen trace amounts of rain.
The extreme dry weather is one of the reasons why a major fire got out of control near Sparta Tuesday afternoon.
The grass fire broke out around 4:00 pm Tuesday near County Highway BC, northwest of the city of Sparta.
Sparta Rural Fire Chief Mike Arnold tells NewsChannel 8 seven different fire departments and more than 50 firefighters fought the fire until around 2:00 am Wednesday. The fire burned nearly 250 acres of land.
"There was going to be a controlled burn (Tuesday) evening over on County BC," Arnold says. "I was advised that he was brush hogging some prairie grass they were going to be burning this evening and something ignited when he was brush hogging and the fire immediately got out of control."
When Tyler Lindner got off the bus Tuesday afternoon, what he saw in his backyard caught him by surprise.
"I saw fire in the middle of the field, and it was going up the hill," Tyler says.
Tyler says he immediately called 911 and in a matter of minutes firefighters arrived on scene.
"Use extreme caution during the months of March, April and May until we get pollination and green up," Arnold says. "This vegitation is very dry, we're very dry and we need rain."
Brush Fire Burns Land in Shelby
Firefighters also had their hands full in the town of Shelby.
Officials say a homeowner didn't know a burning ban is in effect in La Crosse County and tried to do a small amount of burning. That's when the fire got out of control.
Officials say the homeowner was able to get the fire out by the time crews arrived.
Burn Bans in Place
Below is a list of the burning restrictions in the La Crosse area.
Fire officials say anything that has an open flame is not allowed. Grills are permitted to use as long as someone is monitoring it.
Viewer Pictures
NewsChannel 8 received many viewer pictures of the grass fire near Sparta Tuesday. Click on the picture below to see them.
If you have pictures you would like to share, click on the "You Post It" link above.
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