Holy Snow Batman

     This morning I woke up to 5-10 inches of new snow on the ground.  Of course I had already put my shovel away for the year and my scraper for the car so getting the kids out to the car and to the bus stop was a bit more challenging then it was yesterday morning when it was 55 degrees outside.

     If you haven’t looked at the calendar yet today then you probably think the above statements are true.  If you know me and the date then you’ll know I’m just pulling an April Fools. 

     I do wish we had just received this nice dumping of snow as fire officials are making me more nervous than I already was.  I didn’t even think that was possible but it’s true, unlike the tall tale of today’s snow.  So those of you out there who are thinking about burning some brush or putting something into a burn barrel, please, don’t be a fool this April Fool’s Day.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) urges landowners to call 911 rather than attempting to control or put out wildfires themselves.  “Those who have a fire on their property should call 911 and let trained firefighters do the fire suppression,” said Ron Stoffel, fire suppression supervisor for the DNR said. “It is not worth risking your life.”  Minnesota has recently sustained its first wildfire injury of the season in Aitken County. An average of four people each year die or are seriously injured from wildfires, added Stoffel. 

The state has seen an early start to the spring fire season, with 300 fires burning nearly 4,200 acres on DNR administered lands.   In preparation for the fire season, eight helicopters have been based in Minnesota. Also, the state’s two CL-215 water scoopers are scheduled to arrive in Minnesota today. 

Note: Viewing story about CL-215 training mission http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6DQZ5tbSkg