Dry winter raising MN fire potential
The relatively light winter this year in terms of snowfall in Minnesota has some officials worried about the potential for greater fire activity in the coming months.
The lack of snow cover has led the state's Department of Natural Resources to require permits for open burning in many areas, according to the Star Tribune. This step is usually required when snow cover is less than three inches, but its implementation in early February is very unusual.
Because of the lack of snowfall, the paper adds many grasses are standing tall, which would allow a fire to spread more quickly, and potentially lead to many homeowners insurance claims.
"Things are extremely dry," Ranger Mark Van Every told the paper. "It looked like a late summer dust cloud as I was driving down the road. If we don't see more precipitation - snow or rain - we're definitely going to have an early and active fire season."
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly the entire state of Minnesota is dealing with low precipitation levels. The measure says 99.2 percent of the state is at least abnormally dry, while more than 24 percent is in the midst of a severe drought.
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