NECEDAH (WKOW) — An investigator with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says the wildfire that burned dozens of acres in Necedah was caused by someone who was cutting metal.
The DNR named the wildfire the Jack Pine Fire. It broke out around 3:45 p.m. on April 12 and burned 87 acres before it was fully put out at 11:52 a.m. on April 16.
Ron Schneider, a cooperative fire specialist with the DNR, tells 27 News the person who caused the fire was using a cutting wheel to cut up a trailer frame and other metal debris to turn into scrap metal. Schneider says during this cutting, a spark or a piece of hot metal fell to the ground and started smoldering under a pile of scrap metal. This then ignited the grass and the flames spread.
Schneider says the person doing the cutting did not know this had happened. He said they finished their work and left the site not knowing that a fire had been created.
Schneider tells 27 News the person will not be cited.
The DNR is now reviewing Schneider’s formal report on the fire. The review is expected to be finished in the coming weeks.
