Subdivision 1. General authority. Under the direction of the commissioner, forest officers are charged with preventing and extinguishing wildfires in their respective districts and the performance of such other duties as may be required by the commissioner. They may arrest without warrant any person found violating any provisions of sections 88.03 to 88.22, take the person before a court of competent jurisdiction in the county charging the person so arrested, and the person so charged shall be arraigned and given a hearing on the complaint. The forest officers shall not be liable in civil action for trespass committed in the discharge of their duties. All authorized state forest officers, fire wardens, conservation officers, smoke chasers, fire supervisors or individuals legally employed as firefighters, may in the performance of their duties of firefighting go onto the property of any person, company, or corporation and in so doing may set backfires, dig or plow trenches, cut timber for clearing fire lines, dig water holes, remove fence wires to provide access to the fire or carry on all other customary activities necessary for the fighting of wildfires without incurring a liability to anyone, except for damages arising out of willful or gross negligence.
Subd. 2. Arrest authority. Any forest officer may serve any warrant for the arrest of any person violating any provision of sections 88.03 to 88.22.
Subd. 3. Wildland firefighters; training and licensing. Forest officers and all individuals employed as firefighters under this chapter are not subject to the licensing, training, and certification requirements of chapter 299N.
(4031-15) 1925 c 407 s 15; 1957 c 322 s 1; 1967 c 146 s 7; 1978 c 735 s 2; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 328 s 19; 1Sp2019 c 4 art 3 s 35
Structure Minnesota Statutes
Chapter 88 — Division Of Forestry
Section 88.02 — Citation; Wildfire Act.
Section 88.04 — Firebreaks; Preventing Fires.
Section 88.041 — Agreements To Prevent And Suppress Wildfires.
Section 88.05 — Roadsides; Clearing; Firebreaks.
Section 88.06 — Removing Dead Or Down Timber.
Section 88.065 — Equipment Furnished.
Section 88.067 — Grants To Local Fire Departments.
Section 88.068 — Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Account.
Section 88.08 — Wildfire Protection Districts.
Section 88.09 — Acquiring Land For Fire Protection.
Section 88.10 — Authority Of State Forest Officers.
Section 88.11 — Assistance For Fighting Fires.
Section 88.12 — Compensating Wildfire Fighters; Emergency Expenses.
Section 88.14 — Disposal Of Slashings And Debris.
Section 88.16 — Starting And Reporting Fires.
Section 88.17 — Permission To Start Fires; Prosecution For Unlawfully Starting Fires.
Section 88.171 — Open Burning Prohibitions.
Section 88.20 — Railroad Companies To Provide Patrol Officers.
Section 88.21 — Railroads; Duties; Penalties.
Section 88.22 — Wildfire Prevention; Restrictions And Penalties.
Section 88.28 — Law Divided Into Parts.
Section 88.29 — County Boards; Jurisdiction, Powers.
Section 88.30 — Clearing And Improving Lands.
Section 88.31 — Surveys And Plats.
Section 88.32 — Appraisers; Assessing Benefits And Damages; Statements And Reports.
Section 88.33 — Hearings; Notice; Service; Date; Adjournments.
Section 88.34 — Hearing On Petition; Elimination Of Lands.
Section 88.35 — Rereference Of Petition.
Section 88.36 — Order For Improvements.
Section 88.37 — Appeals From Orders For Improvements.
Section 88.38 — Contracts For Improvements; Duties Of County Auditor; Seeding Of Cleared Lands.
Section 88.39 — Work Of Improvement; Duties Of Engineers; Payments To Contractors.
Section 88.40 — Bond Issues To Pay For Improvements.
Section 88.41 — County Auditors; Tabular Statements; Powers And Duties.
Section 88.42 — Improvements By Towns And Cities; Limitation Of Indebtedness.
Section 88.43 — Firebreaks; Clearing Lands.
Section 88.44 — Acquiring Property.
Section 88.45 — Municipalities To Cooperate.
Section 88.46 — Laws Applicable.
Section 88.491 — Expired Contracts.
Section 88.51 — Auxiliary Forests; Tax Rate, Special Taxes.
Section 88.52 — Cutting Timber; Taxation.
Section 88.523 — Auxiliary Forest Contracts; Supplemental Agreements.
Section 88.53 — Disposal After Land Ceases To Be Auxiliary Forest; Rules.
Section 88.642 — Decorative Materials.
Section 88.6435 — Decorative Materials; Buyers.
Section 88.647 — Relation To Existing Laws.
Section 88.648 — Criminal Penalties; Misdemeanor.
Section 88.73 — Administration; Delegated Powers And Duties.
Section 88.75 — Violations; Penalties.
Section 88.77 — Disposition Of Fines And Penalties.
Section 88.79 — State Forest Service To Private Owners.
Section 88.80 — Aspen Recycling Program.