It's a hot time for field fires

Area officials agreed dry temperatures and low humidity have created ideal conditions for fires to flourish as reports of field and grass fires in Mercer County have doubled since this time last year.

"We really hadn't had a measurable rain in Mercer County, at least in the Celina area, since the middle of September," said Celina Fire Department Chief Doug Wolters. "That's the biggest reason (for fires). (It's) extremely dry and humidity has been extremely low. We're usually a little bit more humid."

As of Tuesday, area fire departments have responded to 20 grass or field fires in the past two months alone, according to Monte Diegel, 911 administrator with the Mercer County Sheriff's Office.

It's a stark increase from the 10 field and grass fires reported from September to November 2021. Seven grass and field fires were reported during that same two-month period in 2020.

A fire spreading in seconds isn't uncommon, especially in these conditions, said Mike Robbins, director of Mercer County Emergency Management Agency. Much of the county continues to endure drought conditions.

"It's not the heat, it's the lack of humidity and lack of rain," he said. "Most of Mercer County is in moderate drought (and) the very northern part of the county is abnormally dry."

"It could be as simple as you got a real dry ditch bank that somebody throws a cigarette out, but something has to ignite it," Robbins continued. "Most of it's been either they didn't know what caused it or they traced it back to some open burning that got out of control."

Fires are common during harvest season, which is just concluding, he said.

Dry plant material and grain dust are highly combustible and readily available as the harvest draws to a close, according to OSU Extension. Hot equipment or engine sparks are ignition sources, and exhaust pipes or catalytic converters can exceed 1,000 degrees.

"It's not unusual during harvest that (a) combine (gets hot and) may start a field on fire," he said.

Wolters said there is a burn ban in effect from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. daily during April, May, October and November. Although the ban is in effect, Wolters said many people either don't know about it or choose to ignore it.

Due to the dry conditions, Robbins suggested holding off on burning outdoors until rainfall.

"My suggestion would be (to not) do any open burning at all right now until we get some significant rain. We actually had snow on the ground Saturday afternoon so that calmed things down a little bit, but it is still so very dry out there," he said.

If people open burn, they should wet the area, stay with the fire and carry a phone with them in case the fire spreads uncontrollably, Wolters and Robbins said.

According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, state law limits where and when Ohioans can open burn. For example, inside a village or a city, Ohioans can burn agricultural wastes and plant matter such as tree trimmings, stumps, brush, weeds, leaves, grass, shrubbery and material from crop or livestock production. This includes fence posts and scrap lumber, but not buildings.

Being prepared to handle field fires is important for all workers and transport drivers, according to OSU Extension. Combines, tractors, grain trucks and pick-ups should all be equipped with a trustworthy fire extinguisher as the first line of defense. Farmers should also make sure their machinery in good repair.

OSU Extension officials recommend completing maintenance checks at the end of the day to detect any hot smoldering areas that may break out into flames overnight.

Producers are also advised to keep machinery clean and free from plant materials especially around the wrap points, clean any fuel or oil leaks to eliminate additional fuel sources and to not leave oily rags on equipment or in the cab.