SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN - Wow! What a week in Wisconsin! We’d barely taken off our long johns, Carhart coveralls, and wool socks, but we were scrambling for our summer gear and wondering what hit us.

The week, April 9-16, started with seasonal highs of 67-degrees and lows of 47-degrees, continuing within the range of ‘normal’ through Tuesday, with a high of 71-degrees, and a low of 48-degrees. Right after that, though, temperatures began to go bonkers, with a Wednesday high of 78-degrees, and a low of 55-degrees.

The ‘shortest summer ever’ part comes in on Thursday through Friday, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s, and lows in the upper 50s. Holy smokes – it was so nice after a long and weird winter. Schools who didn’t offer virtual instruction were changing their schedules to accommodate extra snow days, the Soldiers Grove Public Works Team reported they had put away the snow removal equipment and gotten out the grass-mowing equipment, and everyone was scrambling for their summer gear.

The whole week was dominated by dire DNR warnings about extreme spring wildfire conditions. Two major wildfires broke out near Camp McCoy in Monroe and Jackson counties, precipitating Blackhawk helicopters delivering water to one wildfire near Arcadia that burned over 3,000 acres in Jack Pine and Oak Forests.

Meanwhile, due to melt of extreme snow packs in northern Wisconsin, the Wisconsin and Black rivers were full to overflowing, with the Black River exceeding flood stage in Galesburg. The Wisconsin had shown flows of 44,000 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) over the Prairie du Sac Dam, and the Lower Wisconsin River was full up.

The real suspense came for the Upper Mississippi River, awaiting snowmelt from northern Wisconsin, north and central Minnesota and the Dakotas. Delayed due to colder northern temperatures, the Upper Mississippi is due to kick up its’ heels and start spring flooding in earnest.

Then… winter resumes. Who knew? The forecast for the late afternoon Sunday into Monday morning this week called for 4-12 inches of rain and snow in Vernon County and the Tainter Creek Watershed, with areas in the central state near Black River Falls forecast for 12-18 inches of snow. Do you have whiplash? Scrambling for your winter gear, kicking off your flipflops and exchanging them for snow boots and insulated gloves? Glad you delayed the appointment to switch out your snow tires?

Actual snow totals were impressive for mid-April:

In Crawford County, NWS reports 7 inches in Seneca, 6.5 inches in Prairie du Chien and DeSoto, 5-6 inches in Mt. Zion, Steuben and Gays Mills, and around three inches elsewhere in the county.

In Vernon County, NWS reports over 10 inches in Westby and Stoddard, and 8-9 inches in Viroqua and LaFarge, and 5-6 inches in Ontario, Viola and Genoa. In Richland County, 2.5 inches fell in Richland Center, and 6 inches in Yuba.

However, just to our north, things were a little different. In Monroe County, NWS reports 16 inches in Sparta, 15 inches in Cataract, and just over 9 inches in Cashton. In LaCrosse County, Mindoro got over 20 inches and LaCrosse got 9-12 inches.

Wildfire danger

We all know the spring pyromaniacs – might even be one. But a few have had the experience of having to explain to the DNR and local fire departments why that fire we started all of a sudden burned up a whole hillside and got away from us. Last week was definitely the week for that, but no reports have surfaced of wildfires getting away in Crawford or Vernon counties. All the excitement was just a little bit north.

It all started on Tuesday, April 11, with the DNR asking the public to stay vigilant and avoid burning because of very high fire danger across most of Wisconsin. By Wednesday, April 12, Governor Tony Evers signed Executive Order #191 declaring a state of emergency in response to elevated wildfire conditions throughout the state.

In the last week, the DNR had responded to nearly 100 wildfires, burning more than 3,000 acres. Several fires occurred in central and northeast Wisconsin, resulting in the mobilization of a DNR incident management team.

Two Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Army Aviation Support Facility #2 in Madison were dispatched April 12 to support wildfire suppression efforts near Necedah in Juneau counties.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources requested the Black Hawks to bolster emergency fire support.

On Thursday, April 13, Wisconsin DNR reported fire crews and local agencies were on the scene of a roughly 2,800-acre wildfire in Jackson County, which was 48 percent contained.

Officials said the Arcadia fire began at the north end of Fort McCoy. Some voluntary evacuations occurred. No injuries were reported. Three structures were damaged and one shed lost. The cause of the wildfire is still under investigation.

The fire was burning in oak and jack pine. Fire crews used engines and dozers to build containment lines. Crews actively fought the fire overnight and operations continued into Friday, April 14.

Six heavy units, four engines, fire departments from Fort McCoy, Bangor, Oakdale, West Salem and Warrens, as well as the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol–along with Emergency Management were also on scene.

The Southwest District Incident Management Team was activated and, under a unified command partnership with Fort McCoy, set up the command post at the Black River Falls DNR center.

By Thursday, the DNR stated that the wildfire was burning on 2,980 acres in Monroe County, and was 46 percent contained. Previous communications indicated the fire was in Jackson County. Updated information and mapping showed the fire was in Monroe County near the Jackson County border.

Resources on scene were reported as:

• 12 heavy units, 18 en-gines and one air attack from DNR

• Fort McCoy, US Forest Service and Department of Defense (DOD)

• three Wisconsin National Guard Black Hawks

• two hand crews from Wisconsin Department of Corrections

• Bureau of Indian Af-fairs/Ho-Chunk

• five fire departments as-signed (Warrens, Hixton, Merillan, Alma Center)

• Law enforcement officers from Wisconsin State Patrol

• Monroe and Jackson County Sheriff's Departments

• DNR wardens and military police

• Emergency management from Monroe and Jackson County Emergency Managment/WEM

State patrol was monitoring smoke on the interstate and were prepared to shut it down if visibility or fire conditions warranted it.

By Friday, April 14, DNR fire crews and local agencies were on the scene of a 3,168-acre wildfire in Monroe County, with 109 acres outside of Fort McCoy boundaries. The fire was 60 percent contained.

The steep and uneven topography made it difficult for direct attack on some parts of the fire line. Safety was a main concern for ground crews, with a focus on equipment navigating steep slopes and unimproved roads and personnel staying aware of burning and falling hazard trees on the fire line.

According to Fort McCoy communications, Army Reserve helicopter assets arrived April 14 and joined the three Wisconsin Air National Guard helicopters already on site, for a total of six aircraft dropping water on the fire. Other equipment used included ‘heavy units’ (bulldozers with plows), various types of fire engines, firefighting UTVs, fuel trucks, and water-supply tankers.

This was the third day in a row parts of the state were under a Red Flag Warning, which is rare for western Wisconsin. Friday’s weather conditions continue to elevate fire danger, with wind from the SW/SSW at 5-15 mph gusting up to 25 mph and a low relative humidity around 25 percent.

Later in the day Friday, the DNR reported that the Arcadia Fire was now 77 percent contained. Roughly 150 personnel were involved in the firefighting effort.

All Arcadia Fire evacuations had been rescinded as of noon that day. Property owners living in the evacuated area were then allowed to return.

While personnel were still combatting the fire on north Fort McCoy, a second fire was reported on the southern end of post at 4:40 p.m.

The South Post fire was not related to the fire on north Fort McCoy, and no prescribed burns were performed in the area. Fort McCoy, Sparta and WDNR mutual aid fire suppression resources responded to the second wildfire.

Fort McCoy Fire Department officials reported that the wildfire on South Post Fort McCoy had been extinguished by 7:30 p.m. April 14. The area was monitored overnight for flare ups.

Finally, late in the day, DNR fire crews reported that they and local agencies had made good progress toward containing the 3,092-acre wildfire.

The wildfire, which began in the afternoon of April 12, was now 99 percent contained. The acreage figure had been reduced slightly due to more accurate mapping of the fire perimeter.

The DNR Forestry Incident Management Team that had been in command of the fire was developing a transition plan, with an anticipated demobilization on Saturday, April 15. Some DNR resources may have remained on the fire pending operational needs identified in the plan.

As of Friday, April 16, Fort McCoy personnel, in coordination with local and regional fire departments, had begun the cleanup of the wildland fire on Fort McCoy’s north border.

They reported that as of this time, the fire was 100-percent contained, and efforts remain focused on identifying and extinguishing hotspots. Fort McCoy's utmost concern was the safety of their neighbors and their property.

Prescribed burns

Prescribed burns had been taking place earlier in the week at Fort McCoy to burn away brush and other fire fuel to ensure training areas were ready for the soldiers coming to Fort McCoy to train over the weekend and to reduce wildfire potential. Throughout the fire, soldiers continued training on non-live-fire tasks in non-effected areas.

A prescribed burn on April 10 included Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk aircrew members from Madison, who refreshed their capability to drop water on wildfires using a Bambi Bucket at Fort McCoy, while the Fort McCoy prescribed burn team completed a prescribed burn.

The post prescribed burn team includes personnel with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Department; Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and supporting cooperators.

The exact cause of the fire is still unknown at this time.

There was a prescribed burn conducted in Fort McCoy's impact area April 12, and a risk assessment was completed. The Army will investigate this incident.

And then flooding?

Yes, FLOODING too. Holy gosh – what next? Yes, the Wisconsin River had been in spring spate all week, overtopping the construction dike built just west of the Lone Rock Bridge. Early in the week, flows over the Prairie du Sac Dam had been 45,000 cfs, due to spring melt combined with recent rainfall. By Thursday, flow over the dam was down to 40,000 cfs.

But with rain and melting snow over the weekend, Sunday, April 15 into Monday, April 16, the flow at the Prairie du Sac Dam had escalated back to 45,385 cfs, with a flow rate projected to remain in excess of 45,000 cfs through Monday, April 24.

“The flow rate down the river is high water, but not big water,” Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board Executive Director Mark Cupp said.

The Mississippi River is not likely to be so lucky, with snowmelt from a huge northern snowpack projected to impact the basin over the next weeks.

As of 4 p.m. on Monday, April 17, National Weather Service in LaCrosse reports that high chances of moderate flooding continue for most locations along the Upper Mississippi River, with chances for major flooding increasing due to expected precipitation this week.

The current NWS-Forecast for Soldiers Grove is calling for high chances of rain Wednesday and Thursday this week, with a chance for rain mixed with snow on Friday and Saturday. Sunny skies are projected to return on Sunday, with seasonal highs in the 50s.

Water levels on the Mississippi River will continue increasing through at least this Saturday, April 22, with additional rises due to precipitation this week expected.

NWS-LaCrosse predicts at least April 2019 flood levels, but chances for seeing April 2001 levels are increasing.

If you live near, or have interests along the Mississippi River, you should begin preparing now.