BROWN COUNTY — The Brown County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and Brown County fire chiefs issued burning restrictions effective 9 a.m. Thursday until further notice.

No open burning or CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) land and/or ditches or brush piles is permitted.

Recreational campfires are permitted but they must be contained in a ring of rock, cement, brick or metal and must not be closer than 25 feet to any structure and they must be attended to.

Charcoal grills, wood smokers and propane or natural gas devices are not considered open burning, according to the BCSO news release.

High fire danger is a concern across most of southern and western Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Seven counties in the St. Cloud area were listed in very high fire danger Wednesday.

Fire danger was listed as moderate in eastern, central and northern Minnesota except for counties that border Canada or border counties on the Canadian border.

Burnings permits are required in every Minnesota except Waseca County where no open burning or campfires are allowed.

New Ulm Fire Chief Paul Macho said he expects burning restrictions to continue and fire danger to remain high as long as the dryness and warm weather continue.

“I think the weather itself has prompted restrictions. We’ve got wind, low humidity and no green vegetation yet. Even 10 mph winds on a dry day with low humidity can cause trouble,” said Macho.

“People need to be careful. Even a vehicle parked in a ditch or grassy area can be risky,” Macho added.

National Weather Service (NWS) Meteorologist Brennan Dettmann said there is no significant precipitation forecast until possibly the middle of next week.

“We expect conditions to remain dry for the next week or so. There may be some precipitation next Wednesday into Thursday,” said Dettmann.

He said southern Minnesota fire conditions could peak Sunday through Tuesday with stronger winds and low humidity on Monday.

Dettmann forecasts above normal temperatures and equal chances (average) of precipitation for the three-month outlook of this area.

“It’s certainly not impossible, but it’s going to take a lot of above normal precipitation to relieve drought conditions,” Dettmann said.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor lists 53.5% of Minnesota in drought, 46% abnormally dry, 41.1% moderate drought and 12% in severe drought.

The southern and central part of Brown County and eastern Nicollet County were listed as abnormally dry as of Feb. 20.

For more information, visit https://www.drought.gov/states/minnesota and www.dnr.state.mn.us.