Article Photos

Advertisement

The snow is finally gone, and the floodwaters have largely receded from the area, with the exception of areas such as Towner, Bantry and Willow City. In Westhope, the last measuring gauge before the Mouse River snakes into Canada, National Weather Service predictions said Tuesday that the river should crest on Friday.

In addition, significant rainfall is forecast through Thursday.

But as we all know, a few sunny days, when coupled with our indomitable North Dakota wind, can quickly turn the prairies and grasslands into so much kindling.

In 2008, burning bans were in place for much of the months of April and May. In fact, by today's date in 2008, a burning ban had already been in place for two weeks, necessitated by what Minot Rural Fire Chief Rex Weltikol termed as "explosively dry conditions."

That description proved to be chillingly accurate, as a pair of wildfires raged on the city's outskirts on April 19, with the North Dakota National Guard being called in to drop huge buckets of water in an effort to contain the fires.

That ban stayed in place for 25 days, up until May 10, providing an inconvenience for everyone from farmers wanting to raze stubble fields to many barbecue enthusiasts who were unable to utilize any type of open flame for cooking.

It was quickly reinstated on May 22 as the weather dried up again, this time remaining in effect only until May 25, when it was lifted just in time for Memorial Day festivities.

This year seems to be the exact, polar opposite from this past year, when dry conditions prevailed across almost the entire state for much of the spring

But don't make that assumption too fast, Weltikol said Tuesday.

"To be honest, there's no real difference between this year and last year," he said. "It's just later in the year. It's still pretty dry out there, but it was delayed by all the snow."

In fact, a few fires including some burning hay bales have already been reported in the area. The rangeland fire index stated Tuesday that the fire risk for Ward County was "low," as were most area counties. However, McLean, Sheridan and Mercer counties had already been rated "medium," meaning there was a risk for fire occurrence with a moderate spread rate.

"People need to be careful with any open flames," Weltikol said. "And if they're going to conduct a controlled burn, they need to let us know."

As Weltikol stressed, weather is always a factor when considering the use of fire as a tool, due to its tenacity and unpredictable nature.

"A really important thing is that they're going to have to pay attention to the weather to follow," he said. "If they're going to be burning on a Tuesday, for example, they need to check the weather on Wednesday for dry conditions, because smoldering grass can start that fire back up."