Nearly three dozen area firefighters band to battle Pelican brushfire

A homeowner burning brush from the day before is believed to have caused a slow-moving brush fire in the town of Pelican on Thursday, April 16.

The Pelican Fire Department was dispatched at 4:48 p.m. to the 2170 Easy Drive home of Frank Pyrchalla, with automatic aid from the Pine Lake Fire Department, and assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office and Oneida County medics.

Some 40 minutes later, with difficult terrain and the fire spreading into the woods, the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System was activated, calling firefighters and equipment from the Crescent, Newbold and Rhinelander fire departments.

“The challenge was getting at all of the fire and the flames with that kind of terrain,” noted Pelican fire captain Jake Kulba, the incident commander. “I wouldn’t call it a severe fire. It just was that we needed lots of people because of the terrain.” 

In all, he said, there were about 35 firefighters on the scene for four hours, making certain the fire was extinguished. 

“It really highlights the importance of making sure that when you put your fire out that you can stick your hand in there and there are no warm spots in your fire,” Kulba said.

“Use caution when burning because it is so dry out there right now,” added Pelican fire chief Dave Hollands. “We’ve got to wait for things to green up, you know. Make sure you use some caution, and  if you do burn outside, make sure that it’s completely out after you’re done.”

Ardith Carlton may be reached at [email protected].