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Office: Burnett County Emergency Management – 7410 County Road K, Number 127, Siren, WI 54872 | Office: (715) 349-2171 | EOC: (715) 349-2131 | Fax: (715) 349-2180 | Director: Aaron Bentley | Email: [email protected]
Services: The county operates the BEACON free emergency alert notification system – all landlines are pre-loaded, but residents must register separately for text/email alerts, with the ability to tailor which alert types and geographic areas to receive
Notes: GENUINELY SIGNIFICANT LOCAL HISTORY – on June 18, 2001, an F3 tornado with winds over 200 mph tore through southern Burnett County and eastern Washburn County (townships of Bashaw, Daniels, Dewey, La Follette, Siren, Wood River, and the Village of Siren itself), on the ground for 69 minutes across 41 miles; it killed 3 people, injured 14, damaged/destroyed 550 buildings across 51,000 acres, and caused over $17 million in damage – one of the most significant natural disasters in county history, prompting a Wisconsin gubernatorial state of emergency declaration and a substantial community rebuilding effort still commemorated today with a historical marker in Siren’s Crooked Lake Park.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: WI-35 and WI-70 (co-signed) both run through Siren
Airport: Burnett County Airport (ICAO: KRZN), a county-owned public general aviation airport built 1947, about 3 nautical miles north of Siren’s business district
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Burnett County Clerk’s Office – 7410 County Road K, Siren, WI 54872 | (715) 349-2173
Services: Building permits, land use permits, access/utility permits, special event permits, septic system permits; also maintains burning permits, fire warden info, and daily burning restrictions
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Burnett County Veterans Service Office – 7410 County Rd. K, #128, Siren, WI 54872 | (715) 349-2179 | Office Hours: Tuesdays 10 AM–3 PM
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Burnett County has NO single central library branch – service is distributed among several village libraries, including the Webster Library and the Grantsburg Library
Notes: HONEST GAP – the Village of Siren, the county seat, does not have its own full-service library branch; Siren residents are served via a “Pop-Up Library” mobile service run out of the Grantsburg Library, historically operating twice a month at the Burnett County Family Resource Center (24467 State Highway 35) and, separately, at a local restaurant – offering limited books/media, new library card issuance, and returns. Confirm current Pop-Up Library schedule directly, as this arrangement may have changed.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Burnett County, organized in 1865 and named for Thomas P. Burnett, sits in far northwestern Wisconsin on the Minnesota border, roughly 65 miles south of Lake Superior and 75 miles north of the Twin Cities; the county seat, Siren (originally spelled “Syren,” named by Swedish founder Charles P. Segerstrom in 1895 after clumps of lilacs surrounding his home, which also served as the area’s first post office), moved county-seat status here from Grantsburg in 1982, when the modern Government Center was built near the county airport; the region was historically home to the Ojibwe and French fur traders before Swedish immigrants, many belonging to the Evangelical Covenant Church, settled the area starting in the 1880s; the St. Croix Chippewa Tribe maintains a significant presence in the county and provided substantial community support (food and supplies from their Turtle Lake casino) during the 2001 tornado recovery; the county maintains extensive county forest lands with public recreational access
Notes: Siren’s genuine 2001 F3 tornado recovery – including the community’s remarkable, well-documented rebuilding effort – remains a defining and still-commemorated chapter of local history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Burnett County GIS – accessible via burnettcountywi.gov
Parcel Search: Burnett County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Burnett County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Humane Society of Burnett County (HSBC) – Peggy Schilling Animal Adoption & Education Center, 7410 County Road D (corner of SR 35), Webster, WI 54893 | PO Box 621 | Hours: Tue–Fri 12–5 PM, Sat 11 AM–3 PM (closed Sun/Mon)
Services: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving Burnett County since 2000; receives NO county financial assistance, funded entirely through donations; a member of Wisconsin Federated, Wisconsin Dog Rescue, HSUS, and ASPCA; stray dogs found within Burnett County must be turned in to the shelter; cats accepted on a limited, space-available basis – call ahead
Notes: GENUINELY CURRENT – the shelter recently transitioned from an aging, energy-inefficient temporary building compound on Midtown Road in Siren (in use since roughly 2000) to the newly built Peggy Schilling Animal Adoption & Education Center in Webster – confirm current address/status directly, as this relocation was completed relatively recently.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Burnett County Recycling and Waste Disposal
Notes: Annual “Cleansweep” household hazardous waste collection event held countywide – confirm current 2026 dates directly with the county.
Burnett County’s defining modern chapter is the devastating June 2001 F3 tornado that struck Siren and the surrounding townships – a genuine community trauma met with a remarkable, well-documented rebuilding effort that residents still commemorate today. The county seat notably lacks its own full library branch, relying instead on a mobile “Pop-Up Library” service – worth knowing before directing someone there for library access. All contact information above was sourced from official county, village, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Burnett County County
Burnett County is northwest Wisconsin’s Crex Meadows and St. Croix Riverway county – Wisconsin’s largest wildlife area with its sandhill crane flocks and sharp-tailed grouse and the wild St. Croix River border define a county of exceptional natural resources where Siren serves the surrounding Northwoods lake and wildlife communities.
Siren (the county seat, population ~900) is Burnett County’s governmental hub on US 35, a northwest Wisconsin Northwoods community whose Crex Meadows proximity, St. Croix River access, and lake recreation economy anchor its identity.
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Burnett County Assessor at 7410 County Road K, Siren, WI 54872, phone 715-349-2133. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Burnett County Circuit Court at 7410 County Road K, Siren, WI 54872, phone 715-349-2147, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
7410 County Rd K, Siren, WI 54872
(715) 349-2101
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Burnett County Register in Probate, Siren (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Burnett County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Burnett County Register in Probate 7410 County Road K, #115, Siren, WI 54872 (715) 349-2147
Burnett County is in Northwest Wisconsin, county seat Siren. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Burnett County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Wisconsin Circuit Courts require attorneys to e-file; pro se (self-represented) filers are encouraged to use the Wisconsin Circuit Court eFiling system as well.
What it costs
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Filing fees, publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
7385 County Rd K, Siren, WI 54872
(715) 349-2121
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(715) 349-2101
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health & Human Services
Burnett County Health and Human Services, 7410 County Rd K, Siren, WI 54872
(715) 349-2151
Economic Support Office
Burnett County Economic Support Office, 7410 County Rd K, Siren, WI 54872
(715) 349-2151
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Burnett County Public Health / Public Health Emergency Preparedness – 7410 County Road K, Suite 280, Siren, WI 54872 | (715) 349-7600 | Fax: (715) 349-2140 | Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30 AM–4:30 PM
Services: Immunizations, WIC (Contact WIC Office directly, same address), environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Siren
Population: 17,000
Public Records
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