“We get asked the question all the time,” Stanley Fire Chief Korey Hagenson said this past weekend. “Do we need burn permits?”

The short answer is ‘yes,’ and with that in mind there’s a new sign on Maple Street, installed Saturday Sept. 23.

Made possible in part with a $1,000 Forest Fire Prevention (FFP) Grant from the Wisconsin DNR together with a $1,00 match by Stanley Fire, a new Smokey the Bear sign will announce fire danger levels and raise fire prevention awareness among area residents.

“It’s a $2,000 sign,” Hagenson said. “We paid for half and the DNR paid for half.”

Helping put the sign in Saturday were department members Jeff Ryba, Travis Alger, Hunter Brandt, and Hagenson, with Fred Alger donating the use of an auger attached to skid steer in order to dig the post holes.

Hagenson said the sign along with bolts and hardware to attach it came from the Bureau of Corrections Enterprise at Stanley Correctional, while the 4 x 4 brown treated lumber came from Central Builder’s Supply in Thorp.

“The sign went from Stanley prison to Tomahawk to us,” Hagenson said of the route to West Maple Street. Hagenson said the sign had taken three or four years to become a reality, a big question being where to put it.

“It’s a good location with lots of traffic,” Hagenson said of the location on West Maple. “We expect it to raise awareness.”

With plans to augment the sign base using decorative brick and flowers next summer, those seeking local burn permits can reach Chief Hagenson at 715-703-9138.

The number of the Stanley Fire Department itself is 715-644-5564.