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Anoka County 2019 Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan 100 Ice storms bring the entire affected area to a standstill. Ice accumulation causes trees and utility lines to fall, interrupting telephone service and creating significant power outages. Emergency response time is greatly increased, especially to residents in remote, rural areas. Freezing rain, probably the most serious of the ice storms, occurs during a precipitation event when warm air aloft exceeds 32° while the surface remains below the freezing point. When precipitation originating as rain or drizzle contacts physical structures on the surface ice forms on all surfaces creating problems for traffic, utility lines and tree limbs. Since 1966 there have been 79 reported incidences of severe winter weather that has impacted Anoka County and its municipalities. Recent Winter Storms impacted Anoka County in 1991, 1996 and 2001. The 1991 & 2001 storms were heavy snowfall events, which impacted transportation, commerce and emergency services. Due to climate and geographic location winter storms can be a frequent occurrence for the entire county. With the continued growth rate and construction practices loss impact from future Winter storms would be more significant than what has been seen historically. On October 31, 1991, county experienced a severe Winter Storm. Streets were closed. Some state highways were closed to vehicular traffic due to snow depth and quantity. There were power outages to many residents and businesses. There was a complete shutdown of businesses and schools. The likelihood of future occurrences is high and the impact may affect travel for multiple days. During periods of extreme cold, water towers and water lines, particularly in low-income residences with sub-standard insulation, freeze and break, leaving residents without water and creating a burden on the public and private infrastructure. The probability of future winter storm events is moderate to high, and the entire county is at equal risk. A detailed list of Winter Weather events is in Appendix A. 106B4.3.1.6 Wildfires Wildfires are incidents of uncontrolled burning in grasslands, brush, or woodlands. In Minnesota, significant wild-land fires do not occur on an annual basis. However, several hundred lesser events occur annually across the entire state. Seasonal wild fires have been destructive, especially during periods of drought. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Forestry has primary responsibility for wild-land fire protection on 22.8 million acres of public and private land. Its total responsibility encompasses 45.5 million acres or 89 percent of the total land base. Wildfires occur throughout Minnesota and according to the Minnesota State Fire Marshal, there are more than 2,000 annual wildfires with an estimated loss of more than $13 million dollars.