'Near critical' fire danger in Brainerd area, NWS warns

Fire burns in dry grass — The National Weather Service expects "near critical" weather conditions for fires Thursday afternoon. Brainerd Dispatch file photo

By Brainerd Dispatch

April 13, 2016 at 11:30 PM

The National Weather Service expects "near critical" weather conditions for fires Thursday afternoon.

Very warm, increasingly windy and dry conditions are projected in the area that includes the cities of Brainerd, Aitkin, Bigfork, Walker, Grand Rapids, Pine River, Hill City, Pine City, Hinckley and Grantsburg, the NWS said, because of a warm front moving northward.

"Any fires that get started today in short-term fuels such as dry grasses and brush that are still dormant from the winter will have the potential to spread very rapidly," the NWS said in a Special Weather Statement.

People can visit the burning restrictions website at www.mndnr.gov/forestry/fire/firerating_restrictions.html

2458940+0414_burning_restrictions.jpg — Counties being restricted on April 18 include: Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, and southern St. Louis (south of a line running from Silica on the west to Central Lakes and Brimson on the east). There are now 40 counties under spring burning restrictions.

'Near critical' fire danger in Brainerd area, NWS warns

The National Weather Service expects "near critical" weather conditions for fires Thursday afternoon. Very warm, increasingly windy and dry conditions are projected in the area that includes the cities of Brainerd, Aitkin, Bigfork, Walker, Grand ...