Common sense, pre-planning urged with spring burning

Brian Hamman

Special to The Express

Compared to last year’s winter, I think we’ve been very fortunate with not only lower snowfall totals but higher than normal temperatures. While this is a relief and much needed break from last year, it has created drier than normal conditions in our rural areas.

It’s not uncommon for people to want to burn large brush piles or even yard waste year-round, but with those drier than normal conditions, our uptick in wildland type grass/field fires have and will ultimately increase until we get precipitation, whether it be additional snowfall or spring rain to help with those conditions.

If you plan to burn, here are some steps you can take to be prepared and proactive in the event that your fire grows larger than expected or out of control.

• Always have a water source readily available, disc around the area you plan to burn, always have someone nearby or at the burn site to ensure the fire is contained and of course, make sure the fire is out before you leave the area.

• If you can, it’s always a good idea to wet down the area after the fire is out to ensure no embers reignite hours or even days later.

• Lastly, if you have a large burn planned, whether it be in a pit, CRP or terraces, reach out to your local fire department for assistance.

Most of our departments are more than willing to assist with these types of burns as training for members and also as a secondary revenue source, depending on the scope and need of what is to be burned.

Of course, if you do plan to burn, we always recommend that you call your local communications center to let them know you are burning. In Montgomery County, the Communications Center’s non-emergency phone number is 712-623-5107. This helps alleviate any unnecessary fire responses when a neighbor or passerby sees smoke or fire and calls 9-1-1, and gives us a way to contact someone in the event that a fire response is needed.

What do you do if you encounter an unattended fire or your fire gets out of control?

Call 9-1-1 immediately! This will ensure first responders are notified as quickly as possible and can hopefully get on scene and control the fire before it gets out of control or before a large response is needed.

Wildland type fires can grow and spread at a very rapid rate, especially on those warm days when the wind is strong and the humidity levels are low. The local media does a great job spreading the word on days when the fire weather index is elevated and when that occurs, those are days that planned burning should be postponed if possible.

In Montgomery County, there is no burn ordinance so burning can be done year-round. For those that live within city limits, please check with your local fire department or city hall for your local burn ordinance on what can be burned, when it can be burned, and how it can be burned.

There is no current countywide burn ban in effect at this time, if conditions continue to stay dry however, that will be discussed between the county fire chiefs to determine whether one needs issued. If and when a burn ban is issued, that information will be relayed to all of the local media partners across the area as well as shared on social media.