A spate of grass and trash fires in recent days left blackened proof that warm weather is here.
Whether the goal is catching up on household cleaning or preparing pasture grass for a new growing season, FEMA director Rick Frevert reminded residents that a few cautionary measures can help keep a simple chore from evolving into a call to the fire department.
Most burning in Lyon County requires a permit, which is available at no cost at the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and Courthouse; city offices in Olpe, Americus, Hartford and Emporia; and from LeRoy Boline or Ron Kuhn at Admire. The permits are valid for one calendar year.
Permits are not required for burning trash in a container or for barbecue grills and pits.
“If you’re burning off your garden spot, yes, you’ve got to have one,” Frevert said.
The permits are accompanied by instructions about burning, and require signatures from the people who obtain them.
“We have them sign it because there are some implied responsibilities, awareness of responsibilities the person takes on, and that is being responsible for the burn they’re going to do and do it in a safe and reasonable manner,” Frevert said.
When a permit-holder is ready to start a burn, he or she should notify dispatchers at the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
“We do not tell them whether they can or cannot; it is their decision,” he said. The call alerts emergency services that a burn will be taking place and helps prepare them to respond to calls. If a specific address is not available, a general description of the location — the 700 block of Road R, for example — will suffice. Notification also is needed when the fire has burned out.
Several factors combine to determine whether conditions are right for burning.
Wind speed, humidity and temperature are extraneous factors to be considered, he said; the fuel that will feed the fire also plays a large role.
“It depends on what you’re burning,” he said. “If you’re burning close to structures, you don’t want much wind. But for some of these fields out here on rural burns, some wind is good. It moves the fire along so it doesn’t burn down into the roots of the grass and do crop damage.”
Other fuels, like brush, need movement of the air to burn cleaner, he said.
The Kansas Forestry web site provides regional information about the potential for fires, ranging from low, moderate, high, very high and extreme.
“Obviously, in ‘very high’ or ‘extreme,’ outdoor burning is not recommended, but again, this is rule of thumb,” he said. “Yesterday, our humidity dropped down to 11 percent and our wind speed was running around 20 miles per hour.”
That combination prompted a “red flag alert” that was sent to radio stations to broadcast the recommendation not to start fires.
“It means that conditions are such that it is difficult for firefighters to put fires out because everything’s a tinderbox,” Frevert said.
Deputies are writing tickets to people who do not have burn permits, Frevert said, and it is possible that people who burn irresponsibly can be ordered to reimburse expenses to the fire department, should the need for emergency services arise.