Grass Fires Keeping Albertville, St. Michael Fire Busy

Despite a few days of rain lately in March, and a couple more set to come this weekend, the fire index in the St. Michael and Albertville area is still extremely high.

This week alone, departments around the area have battled several brush fires, including a controlled burn last night off 70th Street Northeast in Monticello Township that crept out of control.

Last night alone, there were three burns, not including a controlled burn around 3 p.m. yesterday in the Crow-Hassan Regional Park, managed by Three Rivers Park District and the Rogers Fire Department, with St. Michael on standby.

That fire sent a huge plume of smoke over St. Michael, thanks to winds from the northeast that pushed the flames toward the Crow River and smoke barrelling toward St. Michael homes.

While that blaze was uneventful, the fire started by Monticello crews, was fueled by underbrush and dead vegetation and quickly burned beyond control. Calls for mutual aid were made to St. Michael and Albertville Fire, with Hanover Fire on standby.

The three departments together got things under control quickly, but the smoke from the fire quickly turned a spring sunset red around 8 p.m.

Soon after that, Albertville Fire was called to another grass fire around 8 p.m. Thursday night for a blaze at Kadler Avenue Northeast and 70th Avenue Northeast, just north of the

Wright County Dispatch reported tall flames, but crews from St. Michael and Albertville, who hopped from the Monticello Township fire to this blaze, had it knocked down within minutes.

Friday morning, however, winds have fanned flames enough to prompt another call to Albertville Fire around 7:30 a.m. for cleanup work on 70th Street.

The Minnesota DNR reminds resident there are burning restrictions across the state right now, and those will remain in place until enough precipitation has fallen to spur growth of new grass and vegetation.

Until that time, no burning will be allowed unless a special permit is obtained from a local forestry office.

Special permits will only be written for extenuating circumstances such as time sensitive construction projects and prescribed burning conducted by professional firefighters (such as the Crow-Hassan fire). The DNR encourages the use of composting, recycling, and chipping as alternatives to burning.

While debris burning will be curtailed, the use of campfires, if smaller than 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet in height, will continue to be allowed unless limited by the local jurisdiction. Statewide permits are not required for this type of fire if it meets the above conditions and is monitored until coals have cooled.

Fire conditions may change quickly over the next few weeks. More information including maps and fire conditions are available online