Wildfire — Trempealeau, Wisconsin

2020-04-20 · Trempealeau, Wisconsin

Event narrative

An elderly Ettrick man died after sustaining burns trying to put out a grassfire. The fire started as a result of a burning pile of garbage. The automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse airport indicated the relative humidity was around 35% with a a southwest wind gusting to around 20 mph at the time of the fire.

Wider weather episode

An elderly man died from burns sustained trying to extinguish a grass fire near Ettrick (Trempealeau County). The fire occurred during the morning of April 20th and was started by a burning pile of garbage. The automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse (La Crosse County) airport indicated the relative humidity was around 35% with a southwest wind gusting to near 20 mph at the time of the fire.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 886389. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.