We talk a lot about fire danger at this time of year.  Afterall, April tends to be the peak of wildfire season in Northern Michigan.  By now, most of the snow has melted.  I can't say ALL because there are still lingering piles of snow here and there.  Underneath the snow is a lot of dry "fuel": grass, leaves, sticks, etc.  Once that is exposed to open air again, it dries.  It dries fastest in warm and windy weather. 

    There are various levels of fire danger between "Low" and "Extreme."  At the Low end of the scale, there's enough moisture in the air and in the vegetation that it can be difficult to get a fire going.  A fire will also have a hard time spreading.  As the weather warms up and dries out, the fire danger will climb.  The higher it is, the more likely it is for any spark to set off a wild fire and for that fire to get out of control.  When warm, dry, and windy conditions bring fire danger up to "Extreme", we often see a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service.  Under these conditions, burning is not permitted.

   Today, after a dry and warm week, rain is moving into our area.  However, fire danger has only been downgraded to "high."  The Forest Service tells me that burn permits will not be issued at this time.   We do have some rain (and possibly some snow) in the forecast for the next few days, which will certainly help new vegetation to grow and may reduce fire danger.  It may, however, be a while before it's safe to burn.  We have to wait for new, green vegetation to grow, or an extended period of wet weather.  At this time of year, it's often likely to see rain showers in the morning and wildfires in the afternoon!  Conditions can dry out that quickly!