PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
(WTAQ-WLUK) — As wildfires continue to rage in California, local experts share what’s fueling the flames and what it will take for crews to finally get them under control.
Extremely dry conditions and high winds are what’s adding fuel to the wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area.
“Were starting to see not really ‘fire seasons’ anymore. It’s a continuous thing that has to be thought about,” Fox Valley Technical College Wildland Fire and Natural Resources instructor Jon Kellermann said.
He said right now, California should be in its cooler and wetter months. But the state is seeing abnormally warm conditions, leading to red flag warnings.
“The biggest thing that you’re starting to see is that these fires are in the wildland urban interface. It’s where people are building homes in those wild conditions,” Kellermann said.
He said winds in southern California are up to 100 miles per hour, and the largest fire, the Palisades Fire, has grown to more than 17,000 acres. Emergency responders are doing everything they can to slow the spread, but a change in weather and vegetation is key to stopping the fires.
“When they can get the right conditions, they can engage that fire, whereas when the winds are blowing 100 miles per hour, there’s not much you can do except get out of the path of it and wait for the conditions to change,” Kellermann said.
Our lack of snow could mean an earlier and longer fire season in Wisconsin. The DNR said there has been four wildfires in the state, just in the last week.
“Our typical fire season is in the spring and going into the spring. Coming off a year of droughty conditions, we do have concerns about an active fire season this year,” Wisconsin DNR Wildfire Prevention Specialist Catherine Koele said.
Koele said Wisconsin saw 1,200 wildfires in 2024. She said March is usually when our fire season starts, but it could begin sooner.
“We are prone to wildfires, so keep an eye on the changing conditions and hopefully, we’ll get a little bit more snow to kind of knock things back for us a little bit,” Koele said.
As of now, the Wisconsin DNR and Wisconsin Public Service have not been asked for assistance with the fires in California. They’re getting help from agencies from surrounding states.
The need for firefighters continues to grow. If you’re interested in getting involved in a fire training program at Fox Valley Technical College, follow this link.
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