By Daily News staff

Permits for open burning are suspended across Michigan and Wisconsin until further notice, state officials announced.

“We need to make sure our emergency response resources are available where they are needed at this time,” said Dan Laux, fire supervisor for the Michigan Department of Natural Forest Resources Division. “Less open burning means less potential for escaped fires, and that means staff can deal with other, more critical needs.”

Because firefighters often work closely together on scene and when traveling to and from incident locations, the suspension of burn permits also will help protect first responders and fire fighters from infection by the novel coronavirus.

“It’s out of an abundance of caution that we want to support the statewide effort to fight COVID-19,” Laux said. “Suspending burn permits in much of the state means fewer people will be burning debris — the No. 1 cause of wildfires in Michigan.”

Open burning in some parts of the state may still be allowed in areas where the ground is still snow-covered.

In the the Upper Peninsula, permits are issued through the DNR’s website Michigan.gov/BurnPermit. Residents are encouraged to frequently check the website to see where restrictions apply. As of Friday, Iron and Dickinson counties were considered snow-covered.

In Wisconsin, all burning of debris in barrels, burning of debris piles on the ground, grass or wooded areas is prohibited at this time, the DNR said.

DNR burning permits do not apply within incorporated cities and villages in Wisconsin. These municipalities oftentimes can and do create their own burning permit requirements.