Nearly half of Wisconsin's municipalities are described as being high or very high risk to destructive wildfires. The Town of Rome first adopted a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) in 2007. A CWPP is a document implemented in high risk communities by a collaborative team that includes members from local government, fire departments, county, state and federal land management agencies and other community stakeholders. The plan addresses issues such as emergency response, fuels reduction, community preparedness and structure ignitability if a wildfire would occur. The Town of Rome's CWPP is updated every five years with the current plan being adopted September 15, 2022.
To find out more about wildfires and proper preparedness, visit these helpful links:
Town of Rome Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2022-2031
Home Ignition Zone, Protecting Your Home from Wildfire
Smokey Bear, "Only you can prevent wildfires!"
Protect Your Waterfront Home from Wildland Fire
Protect and manage Oak Wilt on your Property
The Town of Rome has ordinance restrictions on dead timber & brush, visit our Chapter 287 Property Maintenance for Restrictions on Dead Timber and Brush to learn how to keep your property in compliance. Additionally, restrictions on cutting or injuring standing oak tress from April 1-July 15 is located here, in an effort to stop the spread of Oak Wilt.
A Burning Permit is required for any burning outside of a campfire contained in a fire ring burning clean wood. A Burning Permit is available on-line at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/forestfire/permits or at Rome Outdoors, LLC during regular business hours.
It's important to remember, wildfires can happening even when fire danger is 'LOW.' On April 8, 2019, a forest fire started in the Town of Rome by a person burning brush piles. The fire ran through grass and hardwood leaves. It slowed down to creeping on a downhill slope before firefighters contained and extinguished the fire at 2.56 acres in size. This fire occurred one day after a quarter inch of rain fell and the Smokey Signs were at 'LOW.' Dead grass and fallen leaves from the year before dry out very quickly in the spring. It just takes one small ember to start a forest fire. Make sure you have your free annual burning permit and that you check the daily burning restrictions prior to burning debris.
On June 2, 2019, a forest fire started by a campfire, burned in the Town of Rome. The campfire was used to cook breakfast and then sand was kicked on the remaining coals before the responsible party went fishing. The fire crept through the forest grass growing to 2.73 acres in size before it was suppressed by firefighters. This fire happened on a low fire danger day in June, past typical spring fire season, when the grass was already green. Always be diligent when introducing fire into the outdoors, even when the fire danger is 'LOW.' Be sure to extinguish your campfire completely before leaving the area.