It's going to be a beautiful weekend. Very summer-like both Saturday and Sunday - but some warnings about Mother's Day are coming with it.
Our summer-like temps and low humidity are prompting the Department of Natural Resources to issue a critical fire danger warning for a large part of Minnesota. That adds to a busy season for wildfires already - 775 so far, covering 15,000 acres.
"Our average for the entire year is just over 1,000 fires on 12,000 acres," says DNR wildfire operations supervisor William Glesener. "We're well ahead of normal in terms of the number of fires we're having, and that's a direct result of the dry fuels, the dry weather we're having."
The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for part of the state Saturday, and much of the state Sunday when temps could his 90 and winds pick up significantly. That coupled with 15-20 mile-per-hour winds and low humidity make the risk that much great.
In addition to the early-season fires, there have also been a couple civilian fatalities.
Glesener advises that if you see a wildfire, do not try to put it out yourself.
"When folks see a wildfire they need to call 911," he says. "When we end up having fatalities, unfortunately, generally it's older individuals that maybe don't have the stamina and strength to actually do what firefighters are trained to do."
Glesener says there are currently burning restrictions across the state, so folks shouldn't be burning outdoors anyway.
Fire Weather Watch for Saturday, May 10
Tomorrow morning, Saturday, May 10, through Sunday evening, May 11, for parts of northwest Minnesota.
Counties include Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, and Roseau.
Fire Weather Watch for Sunday, May 11
Nearly all of Minnesota on Sunday, May 11, from morning until evening. The only counties left out of this watch are in far east and southeastern Minnesota, along with a small portion of the Arrowhead.
