CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — With summer on the horizon, extreme drought conditions could impact fires. The National Weather Service is expecting dry conditions from May to August.
According to the Carl Junction Fire Chief Joe Perkins, high temperatures with extremely dry conditions may usher in a “summer fire season”. Perkins says the last brutal summer fire season was in 2019.
“In the summer, even with grass being green, it could be you know really really dry. And you’re basically able to still have a fire that gets out of hand quickly and you don’t really know it. So my recommendation to folks is just to make sure that they’re paying attention and monitoring conditions. That’s what we’re here for, this is what we do that is our main job. If anybody is looking for recommendations never hesitate to call the fire station,” he said.
And the hot summer conditions can be challenging for firefighters.
“Kind of the big difference lately is the fact that it kind of comes at different times of the year. Obviously, for us, a summer fire season is difficult because we’re dealing with temperatures that are going to be high and it’s going to be dry. And so for us that takes a toll both on our firefighters and our on our equipment,” said Perkins.
Perkins recommends that you contact your local fire department before doing a planned burn on your property
“As this season continues and we get into summer, basically same rules apply. Just make sure that you’re able to just you know, call the station. Make sure you have a discussion, make sure you get on our list every day that you’re going to burn. And then that way we can have a discussion and advise you what you know what precautions that you would need to take or if it’s not a good day to burn,” he explained.
