GREEN LAKE, Wis. ( WISN ) -- A harmful algae bloom stretched across nearly the entire surface of Green Lake last month, the first time such an event has been confirmed on Wisconsin's deepest inland lake.

The bloom appeared during a late-September stretch of warm weather with little wind, creating stagnant conditions that allowed algae to spread.

"The conditions were perfect. We had a really warm stretch of temperatures in late September, very low wind conditions. And so it kind of creates a stagnant condition where all of those little guys can kind of grow," said Taylor Haag Strauser, assistant director of the Green Lake Association.

At 236 feet deep, Green Lake is the state's deepest inland lake, but even its size and depth couldn’t prevent the outbreak.

Blue-green algae can produce

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