VIDEO: Drought in The Area Leads to Fire Hazards

NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Some residents may not be aware, but almost all of Northeast Mississippi is under a drought.

What started as a grass fire ended up scorching 8 acres of private property.

“Yesterday afternoon, we got a call of a grass fire,” said Webster County EMA Director, Barry Rushing.

On the way to the scene, however, the fire had spread rapidly.

“Before we could get there to it, we got another call that it was a couple of structures involved,” continued Rushing.

Most of our area is under a moderate drought, making wooded areas a perfect tinderbox waiting to catch a light.

“It’s dangerous for for everybody, for the firemen that have to respond and also for anyone involved in trying to contain it,” said Walthall Volunteer Fire Chief, Casey Henderson.

“Just a simple spark from anything could start a fire, with the wind blowing like it is and as dry as it is,” explained Rushing.

Recent cuts in the state forestry department have left fire departments worried about containing large fires.

“It was a bad situation, and it was something that had a lot of us concerned as fire departments,” said Henderson.

This time in Webster County, state foresters were in the right place at the right time.

“They happened to be in the county yesterday and had pretty quick response,” said Rushing.

Firemen and foresters contained the fire in only an hour and a half.

“They were super fast, had two dozers on the ground, and that really made a huge difference in us being able to contain it as well as we did because of their quick response,” said Henderson.

“…but if they’re off somewhere in another county and we need them it’s going to take them quite a while to get here,” said Rushing.

Not all situations will have luck on their side.

Rushing says the best fire prevention is to not start one at all.

“It is very dry now,” said the EMA Director. “It is recommended that you don’t have fires outside now, at all, until we have some rain.”

Some rain is in the weekend forecast, but it may not be enough to lift us out of the drought monitor.

So fire officials ask that you keep the fires in the fireplace, for now.