TRAVERSE CITY -- Fire officials across Northern Michigan are preparing for an early fire season.

The snow is already beginning to melt, something unfamiliar to this area in early March. This means that grass and leaves begin to dry out, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment says that is what fuels fires.

Every year March is a transition period for the DNRE. Officers begin to put away snowmobiles and get prepare their wild land apparatuses for brush fires. They also are taking the time to make sure that other local departments are up to speed when it comes to battling wildfires. This year below average snow fall and warmer temperatures pose an added challenge; a busier fire season a couples weeks earlier than normal.

Fire Officer, Paul Simmer with the DNRE says “A lot of people don't understand that spring is dangerous time in Michigan. As soon as the snow goes away we have potential for fires. So far we're predicting an El Niño type of year which is a warmer, dryer spring. So we do have possibility of more fires this year."