It’s not as damp and wet out there as it appears to be…..and the assumption that it is can be dangerous if you want to burn some trash.
We’ve already had a series of brush fires that started with trash fires that quickly spread out of control in spring winds. One brush fire last week in southwest Missouri destroyed three houses and scorched about one-thousand acres.
The conservation department’s state fire supervisor, Nick Kuhn, says moisture from snows and spring rains soaks into the ground. But surface fuels–small twigs, branches, last fall’s leaf litter, dried grass and thatch–can catch fire in a flash. Kuhn says spring winds can dry out those things quickly.
Kuhn says people who find themselves with a spreading brush fire shouldn’t try to fight it themselves. “Fire can move very quickly,” he warns. He says the best thing is to call the local fire department or emergency services “because it’s too much for one person to handle themselves.”
Kuhn says the best thing, of course, is to make sure the fire doesn’t get away from you to begin with….because the damage can lead to civil and criminal liability. He says it’s a good idea to have a water hose handy…and not to abandon a fire until it is fully out.