Owensville Fire Chief Jeff Kuhne has a simple request for those seeking to do outdoors work — “please, use some common sense.” Kuhne and his department were among several in the region who spent countless hours last week fighting natural cover and brush fires as temperatures warmed into the 70s. Along with the warm up came several days of gutting winds which made dry ground over conditions even worse. Volunteer firemen based in Owensville and Mt. Sterling answered 22 calls between Monday, March 2, and Sunday when they assisted city Power and Light Department personnel secure a wind-damaged electric pole along Highway 28 near Seventh Street/Route EE.

“They really, really, really need to be careful when burning trash or brush,” said Kuhne. “It’s so dry out. I know people want to get out and work in the yard.”

The area received about a half inch of rain in a downburst Sunday and around three-tenths of an inch of rain early Tuesday. That will help for a few days as another round of rain was expected Tuesday night.

Kuhne said the biggest problem last week and weekend was area residents who were conducting “controlled” burns but didn’t bother to notify their local fire department. Firemen responded unknowingly on Saturday to controlled burns near Mt. Sterling between the Gasconade River and Kingshighway, near the Highway 19 crossing of the Bourbeuse River, and another on Licklider Road southeast of of Bem near the Oak Hill community. On that final call, Kuhne said the landowners were present as trees across 350 acres were smoldering with hundreds of patches of fire burning across fields. “His neighbors were scared to death,” said Kuhne describing the smoke and flames visible at dusk on March 7.

County fire chiefs and Dan Dyer, the county’s emergency management director, talked last week and decided March 3 to issue a no burn notice through the reverse 911 calling system.

While controlled, or “prescribed” burns are becoming more and more popular ways to improve fields and timber woods by burning off undergrowth, those who plan to use this method should remember a key component to this process.

Bill Altman, forestry field programs supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said burning can be done safely. In fact, burning can improve wildlife habitat if done under the right conditions and with professional supervision. The Conservation Department and private landowners use carefully controlled “prescribed fire” at this and other times of year. Advance preparations – clearing fire lines, checking fuel and weather conditions and coordinating with neighbors and local fire officials – keep the danger posed by prescribed burning extremely low.

Kuhne said the burn on Licklider included cleared fire lanes. It was the notification process which was not addressed.

“They at least need to call in,” said Kuhne noting the manpower wasted on these calls not to mention the potential risk to nearly a half million dollars worth of equipment

“People mostly get into trouble when they light a fire casually,” said Altman. “People don’t give as much thought as they should to burning trash or brush piles. Those who take time to think through a prescribed burn, get enough people to help and pay close attention to weather forecasts almost never have a problem. On the other hand, lighting a pile of trash on a dry, windy day without precautions raises the risk of property damage tremendously.”

The Conservation Department has a campaign to provide information home and business owners need to create buffers of “defensible space” around their property. Information about preventing wildfires and protecting property is available at www.mdc.mo.gov/15942. Missourians also can write to MDC, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, Mo.,  65102 or e-mail pubstaff@mdc.mo.gov and request the following free booklets:

• F00013 Living with Wildfire

• F00027 Prescription Fire

• F00015 How to Protect Your Home

During a freak wind storm Sunday morning, a sheet metal roof was blown off the storage garage at Boettcher Concrete. Roofing material was strewn across North Second Street. A power line pulled away from a house in the 500 block of East Apple while a neighboring house sustained a possible lighting strike which blew off a natural gas supply line to the furnace. The homeowner was able to shut off the supply of gas to the house without incident.

Also following the storm, a power line was reported down in the 200 block of Fairview. Several telephone line and cable connections were also reportedly damaged by the storm.