A four-person crew of Sturgeon Bay firefighters were sent to a grass fire off Duluth Avenue Wednesday morning. It appears that a discarded cigarette caused the blaze which blackened a 10 by 20 foot area. Door County Highway Department workers dealt with the fire before the fire crew arrived and only a small amount of water was needed to douse the smoldering area. While the Department of Natural Resources has listed Door County as an area of northeast Wisconsin where dry conditions prevail and burning is not recommended, the county is not regulated by the DNR and currently does not have a burning ban in place. Should such an emergency arise, a county-wide ordinance would kick in at the request of Emergency Services Director Dan Williams. Sturgeon Bay Assistant Fire Chief Tim Dietman says common sense should be used before deciding if any burning should be attempted. In any event, Dietman says determining if a burning permit is needed should one of the first things that is done.
