Wisconsin's Wildfire Past

During the early settlement era in Wisconsin in the mid to late 1800s, large destructive wildfires were a common occurrence. These fires were largely fueled by the huge amounts of pine slash left from the extensive logging of the period. The most significant fire of the time was the Peshtigo fire of 1871 that burned in Wisconsin and Michigan; this fire killed more than 1,200 people and burned 1.5 million acres. In 1887, a wildfire nearly wiped out the city of Marshfield. In 1894, the Comstock fire burned 64,000 acres in Barron and Washburn counties and the Phillips Fire burned 100,000 acres in Price county. Many other larger fires ravaged the state during this time but the only documentation is in survey notes, personal journals, and newspaper clippings.

In 1903 Wisconsin enacted its first comprehensive forestry law which provided for a five-member forestry commission and the appointment of a State Forester. In February of 1904, E.M. Griffith was hired as the first state forester. That same year, 249 fire wardens were appointed and reported 140 fires burning an average of 400 acres each.

By 1908 more than 300 town fire wardens were functioning in 33 counties. While these wardens had the authority to hire firefighters, they had no equipment. The wardens' effectiveness was further limited by the reluctance of the town boards to pay for firefighting and public apathy in regard to the forest fire problem and enforcement of fire laws. From the perspective of the settlers of the time, fires had never been much of a threat. Fire was a cheap and effective tool to "subdue the land." When the fire spread beyond the settler's own land, that too was good because it provided extensive, if inferior, pasture. Fires were only bad when they burned buildings or haystacks. Records of these early fires are unofficial and incomplete. The official record which begins with 1904 is also far from complete. Prior to 1930 it is estimated that some 2,500 fires burned half a million acres each year.

Forest Ranger Program Established

First permanent forest protection headquarters at Trout Lake

In March of 1911 a state-sponsored ranger examination was held at Rhinelander, resulting in the appointment of 11 rangers. A headquarters camp was established at Trout Lake in Vilas county. For the rest of the decade and into the early 1930s, these rangers and other special fire wardens established a vast network of lookout towers, additional ranger cabins, telephone lines connecting the towers to ranger cabins, and fire lanes to access roadless areas.

On August 2, 1915, Wisconsin became the first state to use an airplane for locating fires. A historical marker is located on the Trout Lake shoreline from which the first flight was made. Due to lack of communication with the ground and difficulty in flying in windy weather, the flights were discontinued. That early experiment served, however, to prove that, with improvements, airplanes could be used in this capacity and also gave Wisconsin's fire control effort considerable publicity.

Original design of the Wisconsin fire plow designed by L.W. Lembcke, circa 1938

In 1925 a new burning permit law was passed requiring a written permit prior to setting a fire in the state's fire protection districts whenever the ground was not snow-covered. This law did much to discourage promiscuous burning and make local people more fire conscious.

By 1930 the geographical aspects of the state's fire control effort were set with fire protection districts established statewide and the focus turned to improving equipment used in the fire suppression effort.

Forest Protection Headquarters Moves to Tomahawk

Fire crews at forest protection headquarters in Tomahawk, 1936

In 1934 the Forest Protection headquarters was moved to a former iron works property in the city of Tomahawk. This not only provided office space, but also shop and warehouse facilities. This soon became the center for fire equipment development and research in Wisconsin.

Some of the major developments accomplished from the forest protection headquarters in Tomahawk in the 1930s and 1940s were:

• The preparation of standard base maps for all fire protection districts.
• Redesign and construction of lookout towers.
• Design and construction of the Wisconsin fire plow.
• Design and construction of the tilt-bed trailer.
• A fast and easy method of jetting sand point wells to provide water for fire suppression.
• Pump and tank units for trucks and tractor plows.
• Utilization of two-way radios.

By far the most substantial development of these was that of the tractor plow. Once the use of tractor plow units was established across the state, the amount of acreage lost each year to fire dropped dramatically.

The old forest protection headquarters is still in use today as the LeMay Forestry Center.

Core Structure of DNR Fire Program Unchanged

The International T6 crawler with WI sulky wheeled fire plow was standard in the state until the late 1970s

Although there has been some restructuring of the original "fire protections districts", the core structure of the WI DNR fire program remains the same today.

Each spring and fall, lookout towers and fire detection aircraft report fires to the dispatchers in the dispatch groups spread across the state, which cover the intensive and extensive fire protection areas.

In addition to a Regional Forestry Leader in each of the DNR's regions, each Dispatch Group has an Area Forestry Leader who oversees the fire program in their respective areas. Below these Area Forestry Leaders are the Rangers, the descendants of the original Rangers hired in 1911. Each Ranger operates a small 4x4 fire engine and is the initial attack Incident Commander for fires within their fire response unit as well as handling fire and timber law enforcement duties, prevention programs, and forestry landowner assistance.

Initial attack on wildland fire in Douglas County, 2000

Following the Rangers are the front line firefighters (Forestry Technicians) and the "heavy units." A DNR "heavy unit" consists of a 3-ton wildland fire engine carrying 850 gallons of water along with all the necessary tools needed for fire suppression. This fire engine also pulls a tilt bed trailer that carries the tractor plow unit.

Other tools available are helicopters and air tankers that can drop water, foam or a fire retardant onto a fire. Each spring the state contracts to bring two single engine air tankers on board for the spring fire season. Helicopters and larger air tankers are also brought in as needed for larger fires or when extreme fire hazard exists.

DNR Helps Fight Fires Out of State

Single-engine air tanker or SEAT makes a practice drop in northwestern Wisconsin

In 1973 for the first time the WI DNR sent personnel to assist wildfires in the western United States. This practice has continued with both personnel and equipment since that time. Working on out-of-state fires provides valuable experience for Department of Natural Resources firefighters. It helps them maintain their proficiency and get additional training and experience.

Today we continue to update and expand our suppression arsenal. Some of these additions or improvements include:

• Improved lighting system for our tractor plows for night operation.
• Foam capability for all suppression vehicles, which greatly improves the ability to protect structures threatened by a wildland fire.
• Tactical improvements to provide for better firefighter safety and more efficient use of available fire fighting resources.
• Improved communication systems for heavy equipment operators.
• The use of large industrial sprinklers to assist in structure protection.