As fire season expands, Douglas County was one of nine counties added by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to the burn restriction list. The others: Clay, Grant, Norman, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse and Wilkin.
No burning permits for brush or yard waste will be issued by the state in these counties until the restrictions are lifted. A variance permit may be obtained for special agricultural, industrial or management circumstances such as a prescribed burn.
Restrictions remain in place for a huge swath of counties from west-central Minnesota all the way to the state’s far southeast counties.
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“Warm and dry conditions are key factors for wildfires, so we have to remain on alert about restricting open burning,” said Casey McCoy, DNR fire prevention supervisor. “These restrictions really do work: they’ve helped reduce wildfires by more than 30 percent over the past decade.”
McCoy encourages landowners to compost, chip or take brush to a collection site rather than burn it. For information on how to compost yard waste, visit the DNR’s guide to composting yard debris .
People who burn debris will be held financially responsible if their fire escapes and burns other property.
For information and daily updates on current fire risk and open burning restrictions, visit the DNR website at mndnr.gov/burnrestrictions .
