Drier Conditions Than It Appears Reminds Of Burn Safety Protocols

Fire Departments responding to five different vegetation fires in the area serve as a reminder that conditions are drier than you think right now.

Putnam County Fire Captain Coty Nash said with warmer temperatures and not a lot of rain, the environment is deceivingly dry. He said they typically have windier days this time of the year, which can increase the severity of the fire.

“The weather is starting to warm up and everyone is starting to burn brush that they had over the wintertime and whatnot that they haven’t burned yet,” Nash said. “And a lot of it is going to be dead vegetation they’ve had laying around and lot of it will have been dead for a few months now so it’s drier itself, so it’s going to burn easier.”

Nash said most vegetation fires come as a result of leaving burns unattended. He said people will leave a brush pile unattended and don’t have a bucket of water nearby in case they need to put it out.

Nash said fire departments want to remind individuals who will do burns that it is illegal to leave a burn unattended.