GREEN LAKE COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – The roughly 750-acre wildfire that incinerated parts of the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area in Green Lake County has officially been 100% contained.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, burning primarily in cattails and marsh grass. As of midnight on Tuesday, the fire has been 100% contained.
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Fortunately, no lost structures or injuries were reported; however, six homes were evacuated and saved. 12 outbuildings were also preserved by crews.
Emma Disterhaft had to evacuate 40 of her animals from her home near the site of the fire. She has a mixture of livestock animals and exotic animals including a wallaby, monkey, skunk, fox, and porcupine.
“It was a little surreal, fire has always been one of my fears we had a bunch out here last year and it didn’t feel quite real especially when I was grabbing a few clothes for staying the night and going through my closet and thinking I never thought I’d have to do this,” she recalled. “It’s crazy how unimportant those things are when you need to leave, didn’t know what to grab because nothing seemed important right now.”
Disterhaft owns a mobile petting zoo called ‘Cattail Critters’ and said despite the flames, smoke, and ash surrounding her home the animals weren’t too difficult to evacuate.
“My animals, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise I’m a mobile petting zoo so they’re very used to going in crates and going in the trailers and loading,” she said. “So even with the lights and the sirens and the smoke they just have that trust factor with us.”
She said that none of her animals were hurt and that they stayed the night at neighboring stables, homes, and farms.
“They actually had a lot of fun at Vanessa’s farm in the indoor arena rolling in the sand and I’m sure they’re getting way more treats than necessary,” she said.
Thirteen fire departments responded along with the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, several DNR wardens and DNR forestry fire control resources. Also on the scene was the Berlin ambulance service and a DNR patrol plane.
Firefighters are still on the scene as they were overnight, focusing on the cleanup efforts. While no active flames persist, there is still smoke in the area. County Highway D is closed until further notice to provide extra safety to crews on the scene.
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The fire is still under investigation to determine the cause, as no private-approved or DNR prescribed burns were in the area at the time. The fire burned state and private lands.
“People need to be checking the DNR website, getting burning permits, checking the fire danger,” said Jason Hennes with the DNR. “Checking the burning restriction for the day. We are in our spring fire season.”
The DNR continues to urge fire safety and check for danger before outdoor burning activities, especially as wildfire season in Wisconsin arrives.
