Firefighters responded to grass and brush fires across north Ms
OKTIBBEHA County Miss. (WCBI) Dead and charred grass has been all too common for county and volunteer firefighters across North Mississippi.
Oktibbeha County Firefighters have responded to more than 20 grass and brush fires during the month of February.
In Monroe County there have been about ten just in the past couple of weeks.
“Most of these were caused by burning left unattended.” said Evan Adams, Monroe County Fire Coordinator. “Or people did not anticipate some of the conditions that were favorable for a fire to spread, and it got out of control very quickly. ”
“February and March are our biggest wildfire months because a lot of folks are cleaning up debris and burning stuff.” said Laura Grace, Fire Chief at Central Oktibbeha Fire Department. “It keeps us pretty busy.”
Monroe County Fire Coordinator Evan Adams said, what makes grass fires even more difficult, is not being able to use go to equipment.
“Sometimes we are limited because the ground underneath that top layer of grass and dirt is still very moist.” said Adams. “Trucks get stuck very easily when you get in these situations, so you have to resort to portable water backpacks, and we have used leaf blowers.”
Oktibbeha County Fire Coordinator Patrick Warner has some advice for anyone who plans to do any outdoor burning.
“Be smart about it and know the weather conditions.” said Warner. “If we have five to ten miles per hour wind, that it not bad. But if we have 15-20 mph wind, i highly suggest you do not burn anything, that is not recommended.”
