Fire department trains for wildfires amid red flag warnings

By Chris Fortune

Unseasonably warm temperatures have the St. Joseph Fire Department preparing for more red flag warnings.

St. Joseph reached a high of 78 degrees on Tuesday, and the city was under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. It prohibited open burning within city limits, and the fire department asked residents to avoid using fire pits and grills.

Red flag warnings mean warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds combine to produce a risk of fire danger, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures in the city reached a low of 24 degrees on Wednesday, but brush and wildfires can happen at any time of the year.

“It can be dry in the winter. It can be dry in the summer,” Battalion Chief Dave Richey said. “But when the vegetation dries out, that’s when we usually have the most trouble.”

Richey said the fire department has responded to a few wildfires and brush fires this year. They are less likely during the winter, but warmer temperatures in February have created an environment conducive to an increased risk of fire.

“I’d say it’s a little unusual this year to have it this warm, this dry and this windy,” he said. “That’s all three of the combination of where we’ll get a lot of brush fires.”

To prepare for these fires, the St. Joseph Fire Department joined the Savannah Fire Department for their wildland training session on Thursday.

“We need to get together and work together so we know when something happens what each other are doing,” he said. “You got to know where (the fire is) headed, where things are going, which direction things are going, that kind of thing. It also helps to be familiarized with each other’s equipment.”

Residents can do their part to help the fire department and prevent fires at all times, but especially during high-risk periods like red flag warnings.

“The way it is dry and the way the wind’s blowing, properly disposing of anything that’s burning, you know, cigarettes, if they throw a cigarette out somewhere, it could start a fire really quickly and spread really quickly,” he said.

The National Weather Service in Kansas City issued a red flag warning for Buchanan County in effect Thursday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.