Northwest Iowa — Firefighters continue to be busy in northwest Iowa. The problem is, some of their calls could be avoided.
We all know the grass and tinder out there are dry and the strong winds we’ve been having off and on have not made conditions any better. That means that burning may not always be the best idea. But there’s another issue too. Even if you’re burning safely, area fire chiefs are urging you to call in your controlled burns.
On Tuesday, the Hawarden and Ireton fire departments were called to a field fire northeast of Hawarden. Fire Chief Duane Schieffen says when they got there, they found out it was an intentional, but unannounced controlled burn. The Sheldon and Hospers fire departments were also paged out to the call of a field fire near the landfill that turned out to be the same — an intentional, but unannounced controlled burn. Plus, there have been more calls like that — AND a number of calls to fires that started as controlled burns that went out of control.
Sibley Fire Chief Ken Huls says you need to tell law enforcement and firefighters about your intentions.
He says well-meaning individuals often see fires, and since everyone is a little scared of fast-growing fires right now, they call 911.
Fire officials also remind us that they are often in short supply, and if they are busy responding unnecessarily, it may take them longer to respond to a real emergency when seconds count. Huls says if they get to a fire, even if it looks like it may be intentional — if they can’t find someone watching the fire, they put it out.
He says if you are going to burn, don’t do it without significant advanced thought and planning.
Fire officials say you should have water standing by, and if it’s near a field, have a tractor with a disk ready to go to disk firebreaks. Huls says cardboard and paper goods go airborne when they burn, so don’t put any of that in the fire. And you can’t burn tires, waste oil, or chemical products. And don’t burn near any houses or inhabited structures, whether inhabited by people or animals. He says to remember that it is your responsibility to see that smoke doesn’t cause visibility issues on roads.
Huls says weather and wind direction are also very important factors and should be considered before any burn. And don’t forget to call your local sheriff’s office communication center before burning.
