Fire danger elevated to extreme level

Due to the high temperatures and drought conditions plaguing most of the state, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon last week activated the State Emergency Operations Center and ordered the Missouri National Guard to ready its resources in case they’re needed to support firefighting operations in the state.

In Ozark County, high temperatures hit 100 degrees and higher on several days. Bakersfield canceled its fireworks display Saturday night due to the dry conditions, and area fire departments urged residents not to use fireworks at home for the same reason.

On Monday, forecasts included a small chance of thunderstorms, but at press time, no rain had fallen. By the end of the week, temperatures are predicted to be back at the century mark.

Ozark County commissioners on Monday explored the idea of passing an ordinance that would have given them authority to enact a countywide ban on outdoor burning. After discussion and talking with the state attorney general's office and county attorney Tom Cline, commissioners discovered that such an ordinance must be approved by voters.

"The quickest we could get it on the ballot would be November," Greg Donley, western district commissioner, said. "That really wouldn't help us out any right now."

Commissioners and area authorities are pleading with people to refrain from all outdoor burning and to not shoot off fireworks.

Area fire departments battled a handful of fires during the past week, including one that destroyed an unoccupied house in Tecumseh. Officials are calling the fire that destroyed the home of Joe Spencer "suspicious."

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has banned fires in conservation areas. Fireworks are prohibited in all conservation areas as well as Mark Twain National Forest, which includes two sections in Ozark County.

The MDC reported that Missouri wildfire season typically runs from late March to early May, but this year’s hot, dry conditions have extended the risk into summer.

“This summer is beginning to remind me of the extreme fire conditions we had in Missouri back in 1980,” said Missouri Extension state forester Hank Stelzer.

 Drought and record-high temperatures have placed parts of Missouri under a fire weather watch, which the National Weather Service issues when forecasters are expecting ideal conditions for extensive wildfires.

In Iron County, a fire that started June 28 spread across hundreds of acres in the Mark Twain National Forest.

Plenty of wildfire fuel now

 There’s plenty of fuel for wildfires in southern Missouri, thanks to wind events and ice storms in recent years that shattered branches and toppled trees across tens of thousands of acres of forest.

“There’s a lot of timber on the ground that’s broken down, dried and ready to burn. If a fire were to get started, it could lead to disasterm” Stelzer said.

 Missouri’s wildfires tend to stay on the ground, unlike fires in states like California and Colorado, where the flames spread rapidly by racing through the treetops, he said. “While a forest or grass fire in Missouri might not compare to the massive forest and range fires out West, try telling that to someone who has just lost a home or cabin to wildfire.”

Stelzer remembers in particular two major fires that occurred during the 1980 wildfire season that is similar to this year’s. “One incident resulted from a farmer jump-starting his tractor.” A spark ignited a pasture fire that then raced into the timber. “But the most bizarre blaze was the one started by a Coke bottle that served as a magnifying glass to start the fire.”

In the Ozarks, wildfires pose a serious driving hazard when thick smoke from burning trees settles into valleys and obscures large stretches of road.

Create defensible space around buildings

“To be fire-wise, you want a defensible space around your home,” Stelzer said.

That means, on level ground, landowners need 30 feet of open space, free of large trees, around houses and outbuildings to form a barrier that can stop or slow the spreading flames. For every 10 percent of slope, add 10 feet to this defensible space, he said.

Roads and woods trails on your land should be accessible to firefighters and emergency vehicles.

“If you have a narrow road leading to your home, firefighters will have to unload their equipment at the county road, wasting valuable time to defend your property,” he said. Access roads and gates need to be at least 16 feet wide. Trucks also will need room to turn around.

 “If a truck gets into a tight situation, they will have to unload their tractors and bulldoze trees in order to clear a space. That takes precious time away from fighting the fire,” he said.

Bridges with low weight restrictions can also prevent emergency vehicles from reaching your home.

Stelzer said that property owners with vacation homes in the woods or who lease their land to hunters should make sure people using their property have the phone number for the local fire protection district.

For more information on wildfires and their prevention, visit mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/fire-management/wildfires. MU Extension also has created a community page on Facebook for organizations and individuals to share information related to drought, extreme heat and wildfires in Missouri: facebook.com/MissouriDroughtInfo.