Multiple grass fires keeping area fire departments busy

Area fire departments, including Red Oak, have had active weeks when it comes to fire calls.
In the past few weeks, the Red Oak Fire Department has been called out to brush fires at 3153 110th St., 160th Street and K Avenue, 1867 State Highway 48, 1849 140th St., 1767 165th St., and 1912 D. Ave.
An official burn ban was put in place by the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency on Feb. 26. After this interview was completed, the precipitation received starting  March 7 resulted in the burn ban being lifted for the county. Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce said the need for a ban in February is a sign of the new times.
“Traditionally, we would have the winter months as a break from fire season, and now it seems like we’re in fire season year-round. It’s so dry out there that every little thing can ignite, and with the winds we’ve been having, it doesn’t take anything to move the fire,” Bruce commented.
Bruce said area residents need to remain aware of the active burn ban and be as safe as possible.
“If you have a brush pile burning, make sure you’re discing around it and burying it. Don’t be burning garbage in open containers. At this time, it takes nothing to get a fire to spread, and the wind is picking it up,” commented Bruce.
For the past month, be it in Red Oak or the surrounding southwest Iowa area, Bruce said a department has been out on a brush fire call.
“It’s just been continuous. There have been regular fires in Page, Fremont, Adams, Taylor, Fremont, and Mills counties. It’s just way too dry out there,” advised Bruce.
EMA coordinator Brian Hamman said he puts burn bans in place based on a variety of factors.
“A lot of it goes off of not only the weather conditions, but the call volume. If we’re experiencing a lot of fires, especially those that have been set in a controlled setting that have gotten away, that’s what we look at. There are times when it’s extremely dry out where we don’t have a burn ban, but when people aren’t focusing on the weather conditions, temperatures, low humidity, and we start to experience a high magnitude of fires here and in the surrounding counties, that’s when we focus on a ban,” Hamman explained. “It’s not uncommon to have a burn ban this early in the year; we’ve done them several times in the past.”
Hamman made it clear that the ban wasn’t in place to stop burning around the area completely.
“It’s not to discourage burning, but it’s in place to do smart burning. We have a lot of farmers with piles, terraces to burn off, and CRP lands they want to burn, and we’re not there to stop that. But we want to have those safe practices in place beforehand,” Hamman said. “You can be the safest person, have the best burn in the world, all your factors and safety guidelines set in place, and if one thing goes out of whack that fire is large and out of control. We’re in the middle of drought conditions, everything is completely combustible, so we’re in a very sensitive time right now until things green up.”
At The time of the interview, Hamman said it’s unclear when the burn ban in place in the county will be lifted.
“It really just depends on moisture. It’s going to take more than one rain event. A half inch of rain here and there isn’t going to do a lot, especially when it’s warm. Everything on top will dry out extremely fast. It also seems to be windy a lot of the time now, and until soil conditions improve, there’s not a lot we’re going to be able to do,” Hamman said.
With the frequency of fires over the past couple weeks, Bruce said the department has had little time to recharge.
“You never know which direction you’re going to go, or whether or not you’re needing mutual aid. It doesn’t take long to get these departments stretched pretty thin, and then there’s the maintenance involved to make sure the equipment is ready to respond. We do a three department auto-aid page on any working fire, just to get that mutual aid right away. It was that wild land firefighting that brought that into play so we could get resources on the road and get the fire knocked down quickly if we can,” Bruce advised.
Also, Bruce said Red Oak’s fire department relies heavily on their partnerships with area farmers.
“We currently have a list of farmers who have volunteered their tractors and discs that are strategically located throughout the county that are willing to be contracted and respond along with the fire departments. On more than one occasion, that’s been our saving grace, as they have been able to go in and get a fire break produced to slow or stop the progression of the fires. In wild lands, we’re off-road, we’re in fields, and they’re not easy to fight,” stated Bruce.
As a positive, Hamman said the most recent brush fires were a result of arcing power lines and not human error.
“As of now, there have been no citations issued, and I’m not aware of any burns in the county that we’ve been called to since the burn ban went into effect. I think a lot of that goes into public education, the information put out by the media, and the weather products the National Weather Service puts out. They’re putting out their red flag notices and are doing an even better job than they did 10 or even five years ago. Fires are growing faster and they’re spreading more rapidly than they ever have in the past,” commented Hamman.
Ultimately, the burn ban is in place to prevent a fire that can grow beyond what the fire department and the farmer assistance can tackle. Also, the topic has been raised on practices the agricultural community can do to help reduce fire threats, especially in the wake of the Smokehouse Creek Fire that sparked on Feb. 26 and remains ablaze in Oklahoma and Texas, burning more than a million acres of land and resulting in fatalities.
“One option is discing their entire fields. That could reduce the fire load out there and help prevent large-scale fires. Cover crops are another option that’s preventative. The Smokehouse Creek Fire has really opened people’s eyes and has led to them asking the question of what we can do better to prevent those out of control fire situations happening here,” Bruce said. “You’re always going to have fires, be it from a human factor or power line manipulation. But as Brian said, the burn ban most certainly helps us. We haven’t had nearly the calls we had before it.”
Bruce urged anyone that has or sees a fire to get it reported immediately.
“If you have a fire, it’s imperative you call 911 right away, especially in a rural setting, as it takes a little bit of time to get to them. We always stand ready to go, whatever direction we need to go,” Bruce commented.
Bruce also urged anyone who enjoys smoking while driving to be extra cautious.
“Your vehicle usually has an ash tray, so please utilize it. Don’t flick the butt out. The Corning Fire Department has been out on two calls that were because of cigarettes tossed out in the road ditch along Highway 34. One fire led to four departments ultimately being dispatched to fight the fire. If you don’t have an ash tray, carry a bottle with water in it or a can with water in it to put the butt in,” Bruce stated.
While violations of the burn ban can result in not only fines but also jail time, they can have an even bigger impact on people financially.
“It’s not just a criminal problem. If you do go out and start a fire on one of these windy days and are not using the proper precautions and are not safe and cause a fire in a field, or a business, or a structure, the civil liabilities you could face would be astronomical depending on the magnitude of the fire,” Hamman advised.
While it’s a trying time, Hamman urged everyone not to burn if they can avoid it.
“If you have fields that need burned, reach out to your fire department. The majority of the fire departments help with prescribed burning. There are companies out there. The fire chiefs do have the ability to issue burn permits, but that’s on a case-by-case basis and depends on the safety measures in place, the measures available, and the magnitude of what you’re burning,” Hamman explained.
Bruce expressed his appreciation to all the volunteers and county departments that have been assisting the Red Oak Fire Department in this dry time.
“Anyone who’s watched them work can see they know what they’re doing. Our system is tried and true and we’ve learned a lot of lessons over the years from going out and hitting these fires and sectioning them off. We implement an incident commander and operations folks to help coordinate. Sometimes, due to the size, we have to section fires off and split up operations  to divide and conquer a fire,” Bruce said. “All of these pieces of the puzzle are coming together and allowing for an even better emergency service to be offered.”