Minnesota Campers Face High Fire Danger

As Minnesotans trail north to camp this Labor Day weekend, they will be met with risk of fire. Many counties in central and northern Minnesota are rated either high or very high for fire danger.

At The Sand Dunes State Forest Near Zimmerman, nearly every campsite is full. However, trees and vegetation are extremely dry after months of dry weather.

"These are some of our worst fuels as far as fire potential. Conifer needles and conifer, the under-story... burn very readily," said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Forester Bob Quady.

In these conditions, a fire could through a forest extremely quickly.

"It will move through those fuels where normally it wouldn't move through the grasses and the brush this time of year," Quady said.

"As we get close to the Cities we've got this urban interface, we have the woods, mixed in with the houses. It can do a lot of property damage as well as damage the resources," Quady said.

The DNR is reminding campers that campfires should not be bigger than three feet high and three feet across.

"It's controlling it of course. The bigger you get, the more embers you can get thrown off the thing," Quady said.

The DNR has expanded its firefighting support in preparation, including aircrafts and other heavy equipment.

To check the latest fire conditions in your area, click here.