DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – A grinder sparked a large grass fire near Menards in Detroit Lakes, Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters were called to the grass fire in the wetlands West of Menards shortly before 5pm.
Detroit Lakes Fire Chief, Ryan Swanson says the Lakes Area is still very dry and something as simple as a spark from a grinder can cause a major grass fire.
More than 600 wildfires including grass fires occur in the state of Minnesota each year, four out of every 10 are caused by debris fires burning out of control with 75% of those fires occurring in March, April and May.
Swanson says if you do plan to burn grasses or debris piles this spring to ensure you have adequate help, “if you’re going to burn even a small chunk of grass, get help. A lot of times we come out to these calls and it’s one or two people – it doesn’t hurt to have water on standby, even a weed sprayer filled with water can help contain fires and slow them down.”
Below-average snowfall this winter came on the heels of an abnormally dry fall in 2020 causing dry conditions across Minnesota
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